A two-artist exhibition at the Museo Piaggio in Pontedera

In 2011, the Museo Piaggio in Pontedera hosted Sguardi d’artista, a two-artist exhibition featuring Stefano Bressani, the Pavia-born artist known for his Sculture Vestite, and Roman photographer Giovanna Biondi. The exhibition created an intense dialogue between two different artistic languages, united by the theme of portraiture and the gaze as a form of narrative and exploration of identity.

Official site Museo Piaggio

Museo Piaggio: history and cultural significance

Italy’s largest motorcycle museum

With its 5,000 square meters and over 250 historic vehicles, the Museo Piaggio is the largest motorcycle museum in Italy and one of the main ones in Europe.

In addition to the permanent collection dedicated to Vespa, Ape, and the brands Aprilia, Gilera, and Moto Guzzi, the museum hosts temporary exhibitions that open a dialogue between technology, art, and culture.

Exhibition spaces and temporary initiatives

Sguardi d’artista* was held in the temporary exhibition space of 340 m².

Institutional and cultural value of the exhibition

The exhibition held significant institutional and cultural value. Born as a tribute to the memory of President Fanfani, it saw the participation of the Province of Pisa (Councillor Landucci), the Rinaldo Piaggio Foundation (Vice-President Manrico Ferrucci), the Municipality of Pontedera (Councillor Liviana Canovai), the museum director Sabrina Caredda, and curator Francesco Mutti.

Stefano Bressani’s works: textile sculptures and the narration of identity

Technique and artistic meaning

Bressani exhibited works made from fabrics sourced from everyday clothing, transformed into three-dimensional sculptures capable of conveying depth, ambiguity, and expressiveness.

His works reveal a metamorphic-creative tension aimed at unmasking the subject represented and restoring it to an almost sacred dimension.

The artist himself describes this process as a counterpoint to the glossy world of the star system, where celebrity is stripped of its universality to regain authenticity.

Meeting with Giuseppe Cau and homage to Vespa

During the exhibition, Stefano Bressani met Giuseppe Cau, the historic rider who made Vespa famous. From this meeting, a work was born paying homage to Vespa No. 94 94, covered with the artist’s fabrics.

The piece was later published in one of the Piaggio Foundation’s notebooks (2011–2012) dedicated to Corradino D’Ascanio, the Vespa inventor.

“Coffee with the artist” and workshops in local schools

The initiative concluded with “Coffee with the Artist,” a public event during which works created by local school students in workshops led by Bressani were presented.

One of these works, co-signed by the artist and a young participant, became part of the Museo Piaggio’s permanent collection.

Art, memory, and territory in dialogue

Sguardi d’artista proved to be an authentic opportunity for exchange between art, memory, and territory, consolidating the Museo Piaggio’s role as a dynamic and inclusive cultural center.