Featuring in cinema classics like "Roman Holiday" and "La Dolce Vita", the Vespa has a long association with the Eternal City."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," said Roberto Gualtieri, the Italian capital’s mayor.The Vespa, which means "wasp" in Italian -- a reference to the sound of its engine -- was born on 23 April 1946, when the first patent for its manufacture was filed in Italy by Piaggio. It is still produced at the Pontedera site in Tuscany.
Vespa means wasp in Italian © Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP
It was "the symbol of an Italy emerging from the war and getting back on its feet," Gualtieri said, adding that he was "proud" that Piaggio had decided to organise the anniversary in the city."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 through cinema, he said.'Vespa is special'The four days of celebrations began on Thursday with the inauguration of a "Vespa Village" at the Foro Italico, a sports complex in the north of the capital, and will culminate on Saturday with a grand parade through the streets of Rome.More than 10,000 "Vespisti" from all over the globe are expected to turn up in the scooters, which are instantly recognisable because of their rounded lines, their brightly coloured metal bodywork and their round headlight mounted on the handlebars.
