At the age of 12 Bruno Rossati began working eleven hour days.
"Now, approaching 91, I find myself reminiscing about my youth, still riding my motorcycle every day.
Letter re Ladetto
A Brief History of the Italian Marque
The firm produced mopeds in the 1950s and possibly into the 1960s.
Founded 1898 in Bagnolo by Nogarole Rocca and Giovanni Rinaldi. In 1923 Rinaldi's son Leopoldo moved the factory to Via Vittorio Veneto, N.16 Cinisello, Milano, adopting the brand names Leri (Leopoldo Rinaldi) and Mirella for the bicycles.
Mark Daniels at icenicam discusses a 1957 Demm-engined model which has a number of unusual features. It has what appear to be USD front forks, 20" rims, and integral brakes. The front brake lever has 3 cables, two to the dual SLS front brake plates, and the third to the rear brake. Of this Mark says one would need "a grip like a gorilla" to encourage the Le.Ri to slow down a bit. The lever assembly has a Demm logo.
The business moved to Muggio in 1958. It remains operational - leribiciclette.it - and among its products are electric bicycles.
Sources: lot-art.com, woiweb.com, advertising, Icenicam, et al.
