{"id":730011,"date":"2026-06-27T22:35:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T22:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/730011\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T22:35:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T22:35:23","slug":"thousands-of-vespas-swarm-romes-historic-center-to-mark-iconic-scooters-80th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/730011\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of Vespas swarm Rome\u2019s historic center to mark iconic scooter\u2019s 80th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

ROME (AP) \u2014 More than 10,000 Vespas putt-putt-putted around the Colosseum and past the Roman Forum on Saturday, marking the 80th anniversary of the iconic scooter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Enthusiasts came from all over; the AP spoke to people from across continental Europe, northern England, San Francisco, Australia\u2019s Gold Coast, the Philippines and more. Vespa-borne visitors converged on the Eternal City\u2019s cobblestone streets to celebrate a brand they likewise view as timeless. If for only a day, Ferrari and Ducati were forgotten as the little Vespa left them in its dust.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe passion for Vespa is for the Italian style, freedom, the \u201960s,\u201d said Natalie Dunand, a retiree from France who was celebrating her own 61st birthday, too. \u201cI love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Vespa<\/p>\n

Vespa enthusiasts parade in front of the Colosseum during celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Vespa scooter, in Rome, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

Vespa enthusiasts parade in front of the Colosseum during celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Vespa scooter, in Rome, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

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The two-wheeled vehicle to provoke a smile<\/p>\n

Made world-famous by the film \u201cRoman Holiday\u201d in 1953, when Gregory Peck gave Audrey Hepburn a romantic lift through Rome\u2019s center, Vespas have since featured in others, including \u201cThe Talented Mr. Ripley\u201d and more recently the animated \u201cLuca.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

With curved lines evoking a bygone era, plus an ability to produce smiles among onlookers, Vespa \u2014 which means \u201cwasp\u201d in Italian \u2014 is to two-wheeled transport what the Volkswagen Beetle<\/a> is to cars. <\/p>\n

Its invention was a bit of chance as Italy rebuilt from the rubble after World War II. Piaggio, a major aircraft manufacturer that saw its Pontedera factory destroyed by bombings, had to change gears. Downshifting considerably, Piaggio started churning out scooters. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"U.S.<\/p>\n

U.S. high jumper John Thomas, of Cambridge, Mass., waves from a Vespa scooter with an unidentified official Olympic driver inside the Olympic Village, in Rome, Aug. 27, 1960. (AP Photo\/Mike Stern, File)<\/p>\n

U.S. high jumper John Thomas, of Cambridge, Mass., waves from a Vespa scooter with an unidentified official Olympic driver inside the Olympic Village, in Rome, Aug. 27, 1960. (AP Photo\/Mike Stern, File)<\/p>\n

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Women were among initial target clients, according to Davide Zanolini, Piaggio\u2019s executive vice president of marketing, since they could ride them while wearing long skirts and without showing their legs. That\u2019s reflected in the Vespa\u2019s design. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe shape, the elegance. This very charming attitude of Vespa is much more of a lady than a man,\u201d Zanolini told The Associated Press in an interview.<\/p>\n

That little two-wheeler helped kickstart Italy\u2019s economy, and soon enough they were everywhere. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Vespa<\/p>\n

Vespa enthusiasts parade in front of the Colosseum during celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Vespa scooter, in Rome, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

Vespa enthusiasts parade in front of the Colosseum during celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Vespa scooter, in Rome, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

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An AP article from 1950 said that Vespas had become so prevalent that their \u201cstaccato exhaust racket\u201d had downtown Rome sounding like the Indy 500.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere probably isn\u2019t a noisier scooter in all the world,\u201d it said. \u201cScooters darting loudly around Rome are said to impress motor-minded Americans as strongly as St. Peter\u2019s or the Colosseum. The scooter quickly teaches visitors to look four ways at once at street crossings.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A vision of the past<\/p>\n

Such scenes have again become commonplace since Vespa aficionados started arriving on Thursday, flooding streets all over the city and with traveling groups making their presence known in matching T-shirts. <\/p>\n

The parking lot outside Rome\u2019s Stadium of the Marbles on Thursday had rows upon rows of Vespas of all makes from the past eight decades. It was like a motorcycle rally \u2014 except adorable. Some Vespas featured flowers and stuffed animals.<\/p>\n

The Piaggio company switched gears from making military vehicles to the iconic scooter at the end of World War ll. Vespas were partially designed as a vehicle that could be used by women and priests, so they could zipped around in long skirts. The anniversary events include a Vespa parade through the streets of Rome on Saturday. (AP Video: Andrea Rosa)<\/p>\n

Dunand\u2019s Westie terrier rode behind her, its fur cut short to cope with the heat. A man from Tokyo, with his 8-year-old daughter behind him, swapped his hometown club\u2019s banner with an Italian. Others traded stickers. And the Vespa logo tattooed on a German man\u2019s meaty left calf appeared next to three words in flowery cursive: \u201cLa Dolce Vita\u201d \u2014 The Sweet Life.<\/p>\n

Aficionados spoke about how the brand taps into nostalgia for a certain time, even among those who weren\u2019t alive then. Many also noted that they traded bigger motorcycles for nimbler and more manageable Vespas because they\u2019re lighter and automatic, with the accelerator on the hand grip. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou get on, twist, go. Doddle. Easy,\u201d said Andrew Walton, a 59-year-old truck driver who bought his first Vespa almost 20 years ago and never looked back. He had just spent eight days riding from Newcastle, first with a ferry to Rotterdam then following the Rhine River through Germany to Austria\u2019s \u201cRomantic Road\u201d, and finally down along Italy\u2019s coast.<\/p>\n

Buy all the accessories in Vespa Village<\/p>\n

Once Rome\u2019s mayor cut the ribbon at the Stadium of the Marbles, visitors streamed in singing, chanting, waving flags. Many made a beeline for the gift shop, where they could snap up anything from Vespa jackets and hats to Vespa blankets, Vespa water bottles and Vespa umbrellas. But most early comers had their eyes on the limited-edition helmet, with \u201c80 Years of an Icon\u201d emblazoned on its side. <\/p>\n

A photo retrospective showed Vespas in classic scenes \u2014 couples picnicking in a flowering field, seaside escapes with bikinis and a beachball, road trips under the Mediterranean sun \u2014 plus others one might not imagine, like explorer Soren Nielsen reaching the Arctic Circle on a Vespa in 1963. <\/p>\n

There were also pristine Vespas from Piaggio\u2019s collection displayed like posing models to admire, and soaking up attention usually directed toward the nearby marbles with idealized physiques.<\/p>\n

The company has sold about 20 million Vespas worldwide since 1946, and today sells in 110 countries, Zanolini said. In the U.S., they\u2019re popular in Florida and California and gaining traction in some other places like Austin. But it\u2019s still a niche product in America, he said.<\/p>\n

Burke Sandman, whose family owns a 108-year-old car dealership in Indiana, told the AP in Rome that he bought his first Vespa about two decades ago \u2014 captivated by its sidecar. He quickly realized there were no resellers around and got in touch with Vespa to get in the game. He has since moved about 1,000 of them across the U.S., snagging 15 for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one ever says anything bad about a Vespa. You know, it\u2019s crazy,\u201d Sandman said inside the Vespa Village. \u201cEveryone that trades other brands for a Vespa, they never go back. It\u2019s just something about it. And everyone likes Italian stuff. I get a lot of people that come back from Europe, and they\u2019ve got the bug.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Vespa<\/p>\n

Vespa enthusiasts parade during celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Vespa scooter, in Rome, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

Vespa enthusiasts parade during celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Vespa scooter, in Rome, Saturday, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

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___<\/p>\n

AP corporate archivist Sarit Hand contributed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ROME (AP) \u2014 More than 10,000 Vespas putt-putt-putted around the Colosseum and past the Roman Forum on Saturday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":730012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[313724,28,313723,57429,793,137754,6801,149,25222,313725,81424,313722,313721,965],"class_list":["post-730011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-andrew-walton","tag-business","tag-davide-zanolini","tag-ferrari-nv","tag-general-news","tag-gregory-peck","tag-italy","tag-lifestyle","tag-media-and-entertainment-industry","tag-natalie-dunand","tag-rome","tag-sarit-hand","tag-soren-nielsen","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}