A Varese, even elephants have learned to fly. Or at least that’s what happened inside the large construction site that is affecting the former Aermacchi area, where dismantling and demolitions are taking place to allow the construction of a new sports center with a park and commercial areas.
The flying elephant, or rather the little elephant, is not made of flesh and bones, of course: it is the historic brand of Cagiva (and later of Casti Group) that for decades adorned the “water tower”, one of the structures inside the former Aermacchi that will be spared from urban regeneration. The emblem was placed when the vast industrial area was acquired by the Castiglioni family: Gianfranco Castiglioni in particular had moved his business headquarters there, including that of Pallacanestro Varese, which had offices to the left of the main entrance on via Sanvito.
Curiously, it was Cagiva itself that also inherited Aermacchi’s motorcycle activity: the brand invented by the Castiglioni brothers (Claudio and Gianfrancò) allowed the tradition of motorcycles made in Varese to continue. In 1978, the company acquired the Schiranna plant (now MV Agusta), where Aermacchi motorcycles and then AMF-Harley Davidson motorcycles were previously produced. Today, the elephant brand is no longer used in the two-wheeler industry (the Cagiva logo also featured a tricolored number “1”), but it remained firmly attached to the tower on via Sanvito, a witness to a relevant sports and industrial history. Among the greatest achievements are the two overall victories at the Paris-Dakar with Edi Orioli (1990 and 1994) and the three victories in the premier class of the MotoGP, the “500” between 1992 and 1994 with Eddie Lawson and John Kocinski.
The area is located on one of the arteries that allow navigation towards the heart of Varese, along via Sanvito Silvestro, at the entrance of the city coming from the northwestern area: for days, the demolition works of the buildings that belonged to the large industrial area have been clearly visible. Large construction vehicles have been working tirelessly, at least two mechanical arms that continuously remove the debris from the demolitions in an area located right next to the road.
Thanks to the presence of walls, overhangs, and the opening on the roadside with a green background equipped with stairs, in the mid-morning of a rather clear day, a slow coming and going of curious onlookers witnesses the demolition, the disappearance from sight of a piece of the city’s industrial history. Some pass by with their dogs and stop to observe, while others immortalize one of the many moments as evidence of the progress of the work. These works currently consist of the removal of debris, and various workers are operating in the work area monitored by the occupational safety and health service of Ats Insubria, naturally aware of the specific work activity and for which precautions such as misting systems to reduce the level of dust have been adopted.
Due to the large size of the construction vehicles, part of the road used for vehicular traffic is occupied, and therefore cars occupy the corresponding point in the work area in a section with alternating one-way traffic regulated by a traffic light system. The red light, the boss turning towards the works, and the large mechanical shovels remove another piece of the former industrial area. When the light turns green, the gaze returns to the road; the car starts again; another step towards a new neighborhood is completed.
