Legnano

Opinion by Mark Campbell (http://condorino.com/):
“The ‘real’ Legnano bikes that built this most famous brand where pretty much done come the end of the 1960s . . . 1970, 1971 at the very latest. Their top of the line race bike was the ‘Roma’, later renamed the ‘Roma Olimpiade’ following Baldini’s Gold Medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The less expensive ‘Gran Premio’ model was produced in greater numbers particularly for the North American market.”
“….the late 40’s through to the late 60’s the serial numbers for the ‘Roma’ and ‘Roma Olimpiade’ were always placed horizontally on the top and back or back side of the seat lug. The serial numbers for the ‘Gran Premio’ only appear in the vertical orientation on the right side of the seat lug. The various ‘Sportivo’ models that were not imported to North America were also tagged in the vertical orientation on the right side of the seat post.”
“Having looked closely at numerous ‘Roma’ and ‘Gran Premio’ models through these key production years there is very, very little that distinguishes them. Both had Campy dropouts and the overall geometry and finishing quality is also pretty much the same. The fork crown and fork tubing profiles are also identical. When I get the chance I am going to weigh a ‘Roma’ and a ‘Gran Premio’ of the same size and year to see if there is any difference on that front.”
“But I am thinking that the reason for the different location and orientation of the serial numbers was so they could differentiate the ‘Roma’ and ‘Gran Premio’ inventory in the factory, and particularly before the frames were painted.”