ITALY, TURIN

Philip Rolla arrived in Turin between 1962 and 1963, after visiting several European cities and Italian regions, including Piedmont, more precisely Monferrato, where he met his grandparents’ relatives and friends. He did not have a penny in his pocket, but he was lucky enough to meet some people who would be fundamental to his training: the coachbuilder and designer Giovanni Battista Pininfarina, the “engine wizard” Virgilio Conrero and, above all, the Hungarian Frank Reisner, who taught him how you make cars. Two years of apprenticeship without salary, but with board and lodging. In the meantime he made his first contacts with the motorboat world overseas, and for the Californian tycoon Bill Harrah he made his first important invention, a three-blade propeller for very high speeds, an international first. It was also during this period that he met love. In Finale Ligure he met Renate Michel, and some time later he moved with her to Switzerland, to the canton of Ticino.

Turin, a lively city that also offers cultural and culinary attractions, proves to be the ideal place for Phil to realize that the path he has chosen is the right one. He learns the tricks, carefully follows advice and dares. Taking advantage of his previous American acquaintances as a young potential in motorsports and as a journalist for several trade magazines, he boldly launched his venture. Behind the letterhead, it was really just him, working relentlessly with a slide rule and a hammer, knowing where to go to complete a job successfully. Thus began a long and fruitful relationship with Officine Radice in Monza.