I had always thought that the classic Italian bike brand Wilier was a very unItalian sounding name. John Foot's excellent history of Italian cycling 'Pedalare! Pedalare!' ( a bedside reading must for tragics like me) provides the explanation.
Italians often use the letter 'W' as an abbreviation for the word viva - 'long live' - so it is common to see banners such as W l'Italia or W il Giro. The patriotic expression (bearing in mind this was at the end of the war) 'W l'Italia, liberata e redenta' (Long live Italy, liberated and redeemed) thus gave birth to the name Wilier.
Very patriotic indeed.
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