Early last Spring I was busy doing this and that at the Bicycles for Humanity annual Pancake Breakfast. As things started to wind down, I met a fellow who we shall call Ed. Ed is a local politician but I chatted with him anyway.

As it turned out, Ed had purchased a brand new Italian bicycle from the builder himself in Firenze, Italy. The bike, a G. Puccini, what ever that is? Well, yesterday an email showed up in the In Box, and Ed had brought the bicycle back from his dad's place in the USA.

The bike features Campagnolo drops, front and rear as well as a lovely old Campagnolo steel tapered crank set. Universal Model 68 brakes handle the slow down chores. Anyway...

Does anyone know anything about this old Italian road bicycle. Apparently it is of 1971 or 1972 vintage. And, of course, it does not fit me. Here are a couple of shots and any help will be appreciated. You might even get a Christmas card...

The lugs look suspiciously like those on my Atala.

Edit: I posted before the front view was added. From the front they look different.

Interesting combination of components: Campagnolo cottered crank, Campagnolo front derailleur (either Valentino or Grand Sport), Universal (I think) brakes, Campy Grand Sport levers, Simplex Prestige rear derailleur?

Very interesting looking bike.

If you like him, you can tell him that crank (cleaned up a bit) is worth a veritable fortune in the collector's market.

Shame the frame is so small.

Another old gem. Awesome.

The crank isn't cottered, it is square taper, and you can buy one NOS for about $400.
This one, however is different in that the small ring is the same bolt circle as the large ring, so you could do a single ring if you wanted.
Unusual.

By the way, nice bike!

Nice bike. Probably a junior racer from the late 1960s. The crankset is a Campy Sport crank. I like them a lot: have them on three bikes. They are well finished, strong and handsome. They aren't too common, but I didn't think they were worth that much. The ones I've seen have aluminum chain rings that are riveted together. As another poster noted, only the outer ring is bolted to the spider. The front derailleur is probably a Valentino (Gran Sport cages have their bolt on top instead of in front), and the rear was likely changed because the original Valentino rear was too stiff and annoying.The hubs look like Nuovo Tipo small flange, but I can't tell for sure. The QR nuts look like them.
Thanks for posting. I'd like to see more of it!