Venue: Piazza Biagio Marin e Lungomare Nazario Sauro
Website: https://www.guzziagrado.it/
Saturday 22 August 2026 Grado is dedicating a whole day to one of the finest examples of Italian industrial excellence, celebrating Moto Guzzi’s 105th anniversary with an event that brings together history, engines, culture and sustainability.
Not everyone knows that it is in Grado, on the island of Gorgo, that one of the most fascinating chapters in Italian motorcycling history has its roots. During the First World War, in fact, the lagoon was home to one of the main bases for Italian seaplanes. It was here that Carlo Guzzi, Giorgio Parodi and Giovanni Ravelli – united by a passion for mechanics and their experience in aviation – envisaged an innovative motorbike, destined to change the history of two-wheeled transport forever.
From that friendship forged amongst the hangars and seaplanes of the lagoon, Moto Guzzi would emerge just a few years later – a brand that remains a symbol of ‘Made in Italy’ throughout the world to this day.
The programme
4.00 pm – Piazza Biagio Marin
The event opens with a dynamic display of Moto Guzzi racing and road bikes, organised to mark the 105th anniversary of the motorcycle manufacturer.
The exhibition is also part of the ASI Net-zero Classic programme: all vehicles will be fuelled by petrol derived from renewable, bio-based sources, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
7.00 pm – Lungomare Diga Nazario Sauro
A public talk will explore the deep connection between Grado, Italian aviation and the birth of Moto Guzzi.
The talk show, moderated by Marco Masetti, will feature:
Maurizio Eliseo, a shipbuilding historian;
Claudio Tovaglieri, Chair of the ASI Nautical and Aeronautical Commission;
Stefano Alfano, a researcher and scholar specialising in the island of Gorgo.
It will be an opportunity to retrace the history of the Grado seaplane base, also known as “Italy’s Farthest Wing”, and to discover how this small stretch of the lagoon became a meeting point for extraordinary figures such as Gabriele D’Annunzio, Luigi Rizzo, Federico Martinengo and the future founders of Moto Guzzi.
9.00 pm – Diga Nazario Sauro Promenade
The day will conclude with a screening of the film “Il coraggio di andare oltre”, dedicated to the history of Moto Guzzi and its key figures.
A place where history began
During the First World War, the island of Gorgo was home to one of the most advanced bases for Italian seaplanes, strategically important for operations in the Upper Adriatic. Pilots, technicians and aviation pioneers came together amidst the hangars, workshops and water runways.
It was precisely in this context that Carlo Guzzi, then a motor mechanic sergeant, together with pilots Giorgio Parodi and Giovanni Ravelli, began designing a motorcycle with revolutionary features. From that idea, which took shape between the Grado lagoon and the Regia Marina’s seaplanes, Moto Guzzi was born in 1921.
The event therefore represents not only a tribute to one of the most iconic brands in Italian engineering, but also an opportunity to rediscover a little-known chapter in the history of Grado, where innovation, aviation and a passion for engines came together to give rise to a project destined to become the stuff of legend.
Organisers
Chair of the organising committee
Stefano Zuban
Trieste (TS), Italy
MC Pino Medeot Gorizia
Gorizia (GO), Italy
Moto Club Trieste
Trieste (TS), Italy
INFO stefano@catea.com