VESPA – An Italian Icon

VESPA – It is an icon of the Italian culture all over the world. Its images adorn coffee shops, barber shops, restaurants and more and those images are woven into the romantic history of Italy. If you haven’t seen the scenes from the movie Roman Holiday in which Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn ride a Vespa through the cobbled streets of Rome you are missing a piece of Vespa’s history.

This morning, while having the air pressure checked on the tires of my car, I witnessed a conversation over a 1971 Vespa that a gentleman had just purchased in its rusty natural state. There was excitement in the air and several men gathered around and I could not help watching, listening and taking a couple of pictures (actually I got help from the owner, Orazio, as I had not taken pictures with my new cell yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

As I love Vespas, I was intrigued by the knowledge and excitement the subject brought about as those men discussed the Vespa and its characteristics in detail.

The conversation over this Vespa was full of technical details and some were trying to figure out the reasons why some of the Vespa parts did not fit the specifications of that 1971 model, Vespa 50 Special.

Below is  the specific Vespa, and it shows a lot of rust, but I actually find that appealing as it shows its natural “weathering.”

Below is a picture I took of a refurbished Vespa in 2011 at the Milo Motorcycle Rally

Vespa and Lambretta Posters I photographed at a cafe’ in Modica last year

Finally, my favorite picture of a Vespa, with my mother, Giovanna, sitting on it back in the early 1950’s!