When you think of Northern Italy, you probably imagine Milan’s fashion scene or the Alps that link to Switzerland and Austria. Yet hidden in this region are countless workshops devoted to rally cars and classic restorations. I was interested to document one, so I reached out to my friend Filippo from the Special Stages Car Club Italy for a recommendation. He introduced me to Angelo, an Italian automotive photographer who knew just the shop: Il Bottegone ISO Restoration.
ISO was a famous Italian motorcycle and automobile manufacturer born in 1948 and shuttered in the mid-1970s during the oil crisis. But one man has kept its legacy alive in Clusone, a quiet town in the green Bergamo Alps.
Roberto Negri was an engineer and test driver for ISO Rivolta, and when the company closed in 1974, he became the sole proprietor of its entire inventory. That included spare parts, windows, chassis, and even the original construction drawings. With this archive and a team made up largely of former ISO employees, Il Bottegone ISO Restoration was born.
Before I get too deep into my visit, if you’re not familiar with ISO, there’s some information on the Il Bottegone ISO Restoration website that recounts the company’s interesting story. You can read that here.
Il Bottegone ISO Restoration can restore and maintain ISO vehicles exactly as they left the factory. When I arrived, I met Roberto’s son, Federico, who would be my guide for a tour of the humble family-run facility.
The first building we entered was the main workshop. Tall racks rose above us, filled with everything from window trims to engines and even a complete original exhaust system. In the back, Federico pointed out several ISO motorcycles that had recently been brought in for restoration.
Climbing stairs up to a small office, Federico showed me shelves lined with ISO’s original documents. On a central table lay an open technical drawing displaying precise measurements. The office also doubled as storage for wooden trims for gauge clusters, steering wheels, and rolls of fabric.
Next, we walked to the second building, which is a staging area for nearly finished and finished cars. As the main door opened, we were met by an ISO Rivolta A3C in bare metal. Federico explained that it had been in an accident, its front right section badly mangled. Now, every inch revealed painstaking hammer work that had brought it back to life.
Nearby was another A3C in progress, which Federico used as an example to explain their new panel-making process, which is both more efficient and produces smoother results. The craftsmanship and care invested in each restoration are plainly evident.
In one corner, a small room housed more ISO bikes, not to mention an ISO home radiator. Yes, before bikes and cars, ISO produced those. An Isetta sat nearby as well.
As the sun dipped behind the mountains, my day spent documenting this father-and-son operation came to an end. I wished there were more working hours so I could have stayed longer to explore and photograph every detail.
Ultimately, Il Bottegone ISO Restoration is far more than a workshop preserving ISO vehicles; it feels like a living extension of the original ISO factory, part workshop and part museum.
Thank you to Special Stages Car Club Italy (@specialstages_official) and Angelo (@smellsofwheels) for their help with this project. Without them, I would not have been able to visit this amazing workshop.
Wow- Great topic, photos and write-up. You really captured the old Italian shop that retains a singular focus.