"VESPA? I hear it everywhere but what is that Thing?"
You might have seen one and you might have rented one or even bought one but a lot of people are not aware that Vespa was conceived to start a social revolution. It was the answer to"The Rolls Royce", the Bmw, the racing bike industry with its Ducati.Transportation the normal "baggy sweaters" the working class couldn't afford. "Piaggio", the company who has developed that lovely and quick street rocket wanted to create like Andy Warhol with it's Art in these tears did, a motorised bike for everyone. And they succeeded the concept was well received and since that its a mega brand known in the whole world.
The origins of the name "Vespa" (meaning wasp) is linked to an interesting circumstance. It has been told, when spotting the first prototype of the scooter and hearing the sound made from its engine, Cavalier Enrico Piaggio, noted that “It sounds like a wasp“.
And Vespa conquered the world !
In the early ’50s, Audrey Hepbburn and Gregory Peck touring across the city of Roma on a Vespa scooter in the Hollywood movie Roman Holidays, marked the Vespa as an unforgettable Icon.
Another revolutionary exploration in the history of Piaggio is the invention of the Ape car in 1948.
A motorcycle with 3 wheels, a vehicle that soon should be the next icon related to Italy worldwide.
It was the vehicle which was needed after World War II when people suffered and needed a cheap but reliable transportation.
You can still see it around in the market places of Italy and wherever a swift city transportation is needed.
1946 was the launch of the first Vespa and ever since that day the Vespa is the best alternative in Italy to move around in an overwhelming traffic environment.If not in the world.Other scooter brands of course followed but never where able to undermine the charm of this "sweet little" thing.