Fabio Taglioni played an important role in the histories of Ceccato, Mondial and Ducati. He worked with Ducati from 1954 to 1989 during which time he designed over 1000 engines, many of which use the Desmo system which he introduced in 1956.
Taglioni was an aircraft engineer during World War II, following which he completed his education at the University of Bologna where he earned a degree in industrial engineering.
He took a position with Pietro Ceccato in Vicenza as a design consultant in 1950. His first piece for Ceccato was a 75cc OHC engine which proved enormously successful, gaining laurels at grueling Motogiro d'Italia. This gained the attention of Mondial, who head-hunted him in 1952.
From there Taglioni moved to Ducati in 1954, where his fame spread across the world. English-speaking motorcyclists added his name to their Italian vocabulary of pasta, prima donna and paparazzi.
Phil Aynsley's entertaining account of A Party with Fabio Taglioni
Wordsmith Mark Daniels devotes a few paragraphs to Taglioni in his article on Ceccato at Icenicam.
