At its museum headquarters, the Agusta Museum Foundation collects evidence of the activities of the historic companies Costruzioni Aeronautiche Giovanni Agusta (now the Leonardo Helicopters Division) and MV Agusta. Visitors, therefore, may admire both aeronautical/helicopter and motorbike exhibits. As well as a complete collection of products, the motorbikes include models from the Racing Division that won so many victories for the brand.
In addition to providing a chance to see and touch the helicopters first hand, a visit to the museum provides simple explanations of the technology behind the rotary wing, the construction techniques and the aeronautical materials used, and an all-round analysis and comparison between the pioneering era of helicopters and the current state of the art.
With over 7,000 visitors a year, the museum has a diverse audience/usership: students of all kinds and levels, from secondary school through to university (especially from aerospace engineering faculties), as well as aerospace scholars, researchers and simple enthusiasts.
In 20 October 2012, the Foundation’s Historical Archive/Library was inaugurated alongside the museum, at the adjacent Villa Agusta. As well as containing a small technical-aviation library, the site also houses the company’s Historical Archive. This contains a particularly rich collection of drawings and technical reports, photographs, films, as well as typically administrative documentation (accounting records for the original company, its subsidiaries, and so forth). It is currently not open to the public except for during specific exhibition events. Like the museum, the archive will be progressively opened to the public as work continues to index, reorganise and build an inventory of its contents. The importance of the Historical Archive has enabled the Archives Department of the Lombardy Region to initiate the procedure for recognition/notification of the historical-cultural value of the archives kept there.