An icon of the Italian way of life, the Vespa is celebrating its 80th birthday with thousands of drivers expected to roll around Rome on the legendary scooters on Saturday.
Featured in cinema classics such as Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita, the Vespa has a long association with the Eternal City.
“The story of the Vespa, which accompanies the birth and rise of Italy after the Second World War, is in a way an iconic symbol of our history, of our culture,” said Roberto Gualtieri, the mayor of the Italian capital.
Vespa, which means “wasp” in Italian – a reference to the sound of its engine – was born on April 23, 1946, when the first patent for its production was filed in Italy by Piaggio. Still produced at the Pontedera site in Tuscany.
It was “the symbol of an Italy that came out of the war and was getting back on its feet,” Gualtieri said, adding that he was “proud” that Piaggio had decided to organize the anniversary in the city.
“Telling the story of 80 years of Vespa is partly telling the story of how Rome has managed to capture the imagination of the world,” especially through cinema, he said.
– ‘Vespa is special’ –
The four days of celebrations began on Thursday with the inauguration of a “Vespa Village” at the Foro Italico, a sports complex north of the capital, and will culminate on Saturday with a grand parade through the streets of Rome.
More than 10,000 Vespists from around the world are expected to show up on the scooters, which are instantly recognizable due to their rounded lines, brightly colored metal body and round handlebar-mounted headlights.
Andrew Ward, 57, and his sister Julie Stover, 63, came from the United States and rented a Vespa in Rome to take part in the parade.
“We had scooters and motorbikes all our lives. But I always wanted a Vespa and eventually we got a Vespa. Now I have two!” Ward, a regular at “Vespist” rallies in his country, told AFP.
“It’s a high-quality scooter. And it comes with a certain status. It’s classy, you know. It’s not like the cheap scooters you see on the street all the time. The Vespa is special,” Stover added.
– Social importance –
Designed to be a popular and affordable means of transport, the Vespa – which benefited from all sorts of innovations stemming from aviation, Piaggio’s core business – also has a social significance.
Its story is intertwined with “the story of a country that has come out of the post-war period, that wants to move, that wants to come back,” Matteo Colaninno, executive chairman of the Piaggio group, said at the launch of the celebrations.
“And this desire to move is not just physical mobility,” it’s also “a kind of push toward economic mobility and above all social mobility,” he said.
“Today, the Vespa has become a global phenomenon; we are on the verge of 20 million vehicles produced” since 1946, Colaninno said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, pictured Thursday sitting on a white Vespa in the waiting rooms of Palazzo Chigi, the main government building, praised the famous scooter as representing not only “industrial excellence” but also “one of the most beloved Italian icons in the world, a symbol of Italian creativity and style.”
“He’s a legend,” said Franco Gaudino, 52, speaking to AFP as he attended the Rome event with his club from La Louviere, Belgium.
Illac Diaz, originally from the Philippines, said “the beautiful thing about the Vespa is that it brings you friendship.”
“There is no place you park without making friends. So the Vespa is like a family,” said the 52-year-old, who has just bought a house in Trieste, northern Italy, where he plans to buy another Vespa as soon as possible.
