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Cool at any age: the
Vespa hits 60
By Richard Owen
Italy is celebrating the creation of a two-wheel style icon that has won
hearts worldwide
AUDREY HEPBURN and
Jennifer Lopez were pleased to pose on one. It has inspired pop songs and films,
and Italians are eager to hail its sleek design as the undisputed symbol of
national pride.
The Vespa turns 60
this month and is being feted with an exhibition celebrating the two-wheeled
embodiment of la dolce vita. “The key to the Vespa is that it has a
soul,” said Roberto Leardi, head of the Italian Vespa Club. “It is not just a
piece of machinery.”
The scooter features
as an “icon of Italian design” in Vrooooom, an exhibition that opened
this week at Riccione.
The enduring national
love affair with the Vespa is partly because of its simple but aesthetically
pleasing design, including the voluptuously rounded and flared tail that
inspired its name (Vespa is Italian for wasp).
It inspires fierce
affection in Italians old enough to remember the heady days of la dolce vita,
when, after war and fascism, the Vespa gave young Italian couples the freedom to
head for the seaside or the country at an affordable price.
The Vespa was created
in April 1946 by Enrico Piaggio, an aircraft manufacturer looking for new
postwar markets, and Corradino D’Ascanio, the aeronautical engineer and
helicopter designer.  Comments (5) |  Add as favourites (61) |  Quote this article on your site | Views: 5643
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