Eva Marzone “la Birusa”

Pier Luigi Ollearo

Eva Marzone also known as Eva Ollearo, was nicknamed “the Birusa” (which in Piedmontese language means fast and audacious) not only because in the ’20s and’ 30s a woman driving a motorcycle is an unusual fact, but also because it participates in competitions obtaining important results, sometimes better than many male competitors.
Eva was born in Piverone on 21st October 1906 by Francesco Marzone, 53 years old, a carpenter and Celestina Rege, an house woman … so the municipal archive reads.
In adolescence, she leaves for Paraguay as a nanny, in the wake of the lawyer Ricca di Piverone, as he was the consul in that country and remains there for several years.
Back in Italy she follows her sister Ester, who had married Neftàli Ollearo, a motorbike manufacturer since 1921..

 

Eva who is a beautiful woman, (I remember that even in old age che did not leave home without a perfect makeup), likes motorcycles so much to become a racing driver.
She participates in hill climbs and races, acheiving good results, as witnessed in the chronicles of the time.

 

She works following the commercial aspects of the Ollearo factory and having Valle d’Aosta as a reference area that she personally follows: thus interprets an innovative role for a woman, helped by her way of being very pleasant and professional.
When the motorcycle industry suffers the heavy conditioning of the economy recession, che works as a civilian at the “Amione” military barracks in Turin, where it continues to deal with means of transport.
Eva Marzone is definitely a woman who knew how to conquer the typically “male” roles, anticipating the times and interpreting at best her commitment in the commercial sector, definitely crucial for any company.