In Italy, periods of crisis and periods of relative prosperity have always alternated."black years" were the terrible decade 1988-1898, of severe economic recession at the end of the nineteenth century. Our country was lagging behind in industrial take- off and modernization. However, in the most critical periods it seems that the inventive spirit is stronger: the creative forces are concentrated around the car. This medium, which would become the symbol of modern times,was perfected in the Giolitti period, between 1900 and 1914, when the First World War broke out. In this intermediate phase, the highly qualified mechanical industry, entrepreneurship, economic policy, the workforce, inserted our country into industrial Europe of the time. In its " heroic period" the car had the merit of contributing to a great extent in creating in Italy a mentality that was not only technical but modern.

In the engine industry the FIAT produsse between 1912 and 1915 the FIAT O, which is the rare testimony of this renaissance. Smail but very expensive car, it was driven by Battista ( called Pinin) Farina, founder of the famous Pininfarina, the family business known all over the world. The Type Zero could reach 70 km. h.; with the first steering wheel replacing the handlebar and being an open vehicle, it offered a cloth as a shelter from the dust of the unpaved roads with masks, goggles and protective veils. A show that can still be admired in historical rallies.