Life

Piaggio was born in Pegli

Pegli

Pegli is a neighbourhood in the west of Genoa, Italy.With a mild climate and a sea promenade, Pegli is mainly a residential area with four public parks and several villas and mansions. It is also known as a tourist resort with some hotels, camping and bathing establishments...

, which at that the time was an independent municipality. He graduated with a degree in Economics from University of Genoa

University of Genoa

The University of Genoa is one of the largest universities in Italy.Located in Liguria on the Italian Riviera, the university was founded in 1471. It currently has about 40,000 students, 1,800 teaching and research staff and about 1,580 administrative staff.- Campus :The University of Genoa is...

 in 1927. and would later receive an honorary degree in engineering from the University of Pisa

University of Pisa

The University of Pisa , located in Pisa, Tuscany, is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century...

, in 1951.

Piaggio and his brother Armando inherited the family engineering business on their father's death in 1938. This had initially manufactured rolling-stock but had moved into aircraft production by the outbreak of World War II. Their factory was seriously damaged by Allied bombing and was unable to continue aircraft production when the war ended.
Enrico Piaggio took the decision to diversify into manufacturing Vespa

Vespa

Vespa is an Italian brand of scooter manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian.The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A...

 scooters. This proved to be a far-sighted move, as Piaggio

Piaggio

Piaggio based in Pontedera, Italy encompasses seven brands of scooters, motorcycles and compact commercial vehicles. As the fourth largest producer of scooters and motorcycles in the world, Piaggio produces more than 600,000 vehicles annually, with five research and development centers, more than...

 would eventually become one of the biggest manufacturers of two-wheel vehicles in the world.
In October 1965, Piaggio was taken ill at work during an industrial disupte. The ambulance taking him to hospital had to make its way through crowds of strikers. Piaggio was released from hospital and died at home ten days later. Thousands of mourners lined the streets as his funeral passed by, including many of the erstwhile strikers.

Piaggio had also been critically wounded in September 1943, following an incident with Fascists in the lobby of the Excelsior Hotel in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

. His life was saved only by removing one of his kidneys.

Family

Enrico Piaggio was the second husband of Paola Antonelli, the widow of the El Alamein

Second Battle of El Alamein

The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...

 commander Colonel Alberto Bechi Luserna. They lived in the Villa Varramista

Varramista Gardens

The Varramista Gardens are located in Tuscany and cover over 400 hectares of parkland. The entrance consists of an oak tree avenue which leads to an Italian style garden designed by Bartolomeo Ammannati...

 which Piaggio purchased in 1953.
Piaggio's stepdaughter, Antonella Bechi Piaggio, went on to marry Umberto Agnelli

Umberto Agnelli

Umberto Agnelli was an Italian entrepreneur and politician. His brother was Gianni Agnelli.He served as a CEO of Fiat from 1970–1976 and senator of the Italian Republic, from 1976 to 1979, and was the honorary chairman of the Juventus soccer team, the past president of the Italian Football...

.