Vespa: 75 years lived with vivacity [PHOTO]

They are 19 million the specimens of Vespa products from far away 1946 and numerous stories around the world are and will be linked to these. Some interesting ones are mentioned, recalling the 75 years of Vespa.

Between cinema, sport and exploration

A style icon that from its origins has proposed an innovative idea of ​​the movement, starting with that name linked to its characterizing and recognizable appearance.
Thinking of Vespa also refers to an idea of "Dolce Vita", precisely in that period in which it became synonymous with scooters, recalling the reports of foreign correspondents who spoke about “the land of Vespas” and the very presence of the specimen in various films and in particular in the film "Roman holidays" of the 1953 starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Since then there have been other apparitions.

In addition to style, aesthetic and technical research, and an idea of ​​typically Italian style visible throughout the world, Vespa has also been a protagonist in the sporting field and beyond.
Going back to the 1950s, we recall participation in official speed and off-road motorcycle competitions in Europe, as well as legendary exploratory experiences.
For example in the 1951 Piaggio created a prototype of 125 cc Vespa for speed competitions, obtaining the world record for the flying kilometre to the average of 171,102 km/h. While the following year the Frenchman Georges Monneret developed a “Amphibious Vespa” for the Paris-London, completing the crossing of the English Channel.

Siluro

Vespa was also the protagonist at the “Six Days International” of Varese del 1951, allowing the conquest of 9 gold medals, more than any other Italian specimen and in the same year the experiences in RAID like a challenging expedition to Congo.
An adventure as intense as those of the Italian student Giancarlo Tironi, who reached the Arctic Circle on a Vespa, or the crossing of the Andes from Buenos Aires to Santiago del Chile by the Argentinian Carlos Velez.

Testimonies of the bubbly nature of a vehicle created to cross urban realities, but ultimately a citizen of the world forever. Vespa has also become further popular among those who loved and love adventurous travel, such as the Italian journalist Roberto Patrignani who reached Tokyo on a Vespa starting from Milan, or we think back to Soren Nielsen's trip to Greenland, to that of James P. Owen from the USA to Tierra del Fuego, or even the example decorated by Salvador Dalì and exhibited at the Piaggio Museum used by Santiago Guillen and Antonio Veciana to go from Madrid to Athens among many others.
Furthermore, in 1980 two Vespa PX 200s were brought to the finish line of the historic Paris-Dakar, the second edition of what will become one of the legendary races in the world, driven by the riders M. Simonot and B. Tcherniawsky. The French team, organized by Jean-François Piot, was assisted by Henri Pescarolo, four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as remembered.

There are numerous trips made, as mentioned, just as the experiences lived around the world on a Vespa are incalculable. Among the most evocative are also those of the writer and journalist Giorgio Bettinelli, who in July 1992, leaving Rome on a Vespa, reached Saigon in March 1993. Then between 1994 and 1995 he covered, always on his bike, the 36.000 kilometers between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego and between '95 and '96, starting from Melbourne (Australia), he arrived in Cape Town, completing over 52.000 kilometers in twelve months. And again in 1997 he completed an itinerary from Chile to Tasmania crossing several continents for a total of 144.000 kilometers in three years and eight months, touching 90 countries. Overall, more than 250.000 kilometers spent on a Vespa. A medium that has become a passion.

Photo: Vespa