Matteo Ceirano

Matteo Ceirano (1870 to 1941) was an Italian automotive engineer and businessman who helped found several early car makers around Turin. Born in Cuneo, the youngest of four brothers whose father Giovanni was a watchmaker, he co-founded Ceirano GB & C with his brother Giovanni Battista in 1898, producing the Welleyes car whose plant and patents were sold to Giovanni Agnelli in 1899 and became the first Fiat cars. In 1904 he left to create his own brand, Itala, and in 1906 he left Itala to found Società Piemontese Automobili (S.P.A.) with Michele Ansaldi, working with the chief designer Alberto Ballacco. Accounts of the S.P.A. founding date vary between 1906 and 1908. He died in Turin on 19 March 1941.