Leopoldo Pirelli Signed Letter, 1975

Leopoldo Pirelli led the Milan company founded by his grandfather, Giovanni Battista Pirelli. Born in 1925, he joined the board in 1954 and served as chairman from 1965 to 1996, the third generation of the family at its head. When he wrote this letter the company's head office was the Centro Pirelli on Piazza Duca d'Aosta, the Gio Ponti skyscraper beside Milano Centrale that his father Alberto had commissioned, and which Pirelli sold to the Lombardy region in 1978.

The letter is typed on his own Pirelli letterhead, headed Leopoldo Pirelli, Presidente, and dated Milan, 6 March 1975. Addressed to Dott. Roberto Merlo in Pavia, it is a short, cordial reply to Merlo's letter of 9 February. The chairman thanks him, says he appreciates the enthusiasm Merlo is bringing to his work at Pirelli, and sends his good wishes for Merlo's forthcoming wedding. It is signed by Leopoldo Pirelli in blue ink above his typed name. The sheet has been folded for posting and is otherwise clean. It is shown with a typed envelope addressed to Merlo in Pavia; that envelope bears a 40 lire stamp and a Modena railway station postmark of 14 April, so it appears to come from separate correspondence rather than from this letter.

Provenance: the correspondence of Dr Roberto Merlo of Pavia, to whom the letter was written.