Rome celebrates 80 years of Italy’s iconic Vespa scooter

Thousands of riders from all around the world paraded by means of Rome on Saturday to rejoice Vespa’s eightieth birthday.

“The history 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,” mentioned Roberto Gualtieri, the Italian capital’s mayor.

Designed to be an reasonably priced technique of transport, the Vespa, which suggests “wasp” in Italian, was launched in 1946 by ‌Piaggio, a significant plane producer.

It was “the symbol of an Italy emerging from the war and getting back on its feet,” Gualtieri mentioned. 

Vespa’s recognition in motion pictures

“Telling the story of 80 years of the Vespa is, in part, telling the story of how Rome has managed to capture the world’s imagination,” particularly by means of cinema, Gualtieri mentioned.

Vespas had been featured in cinema classics just like the 1953 romantic comedy “Roman Holiday” and the 1960 drama “La Dolce Vita.”

The iconic scooter additionally appeared in different motion pictures, together with “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and, more recently, the animated “Luca.”

Four-day Vespa celebrations in Rome

The four-day festivities started on Thursday with the inauguration of a “Vespa Village” on the Foro Italico in northern Rome.

It culminated on Saturday with hundreds of drivers zipping by means of the streets of Rome.

Vespa has ​been in steady ‌manufacturing for 80 years and is now ⁠bought in ​about 100 nations.

“Today, the Vespa has become a global phenomenon; we are on the verge of 20 million vehicles produced” since 1946, mentioned Matteo Colaninno, government chairman of the Piaggio group. 

Edited by: Wesley Dockery

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