An icon of the Italian way of life, the Vespa was celebrating its 80th birthday on Saturday, as thousands of riders paraded through Rome on the legendary scooters. A few donned biker jackets despite the scorching heat while others opted for t-shirts, the hum of their machines filling the capital with a colourful buzz. Some rode solo, others in pairs, whizzing through the city centre – even along streets usually closed to private traffic. "We brought our Vespa over from the United States. We travelled through Germany, then via Vienna ... and I then rode my Vespa from Austria to Rome, a journey that took two weeks," Texas resident David Baamonde told AFP-TV on Saturday. "For me, the Vespa is a way of life, a sense of carefree living, enjoying the moment, discovering scenery – it's a lifestyle," said Italian Andrea Musco. 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. 'Vespa is special' 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. 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. The 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 culminated on Saturday with the grand parade through the streets of Rome. Thousands of "Vespisti" from all over the globe turned 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.