On My Vespa

In the 60 years since it zipped onto the scene, the Vespa scooter has become an icon of Italian culture, as recognizable as the Coliseum, pizza margherita and Pavarotti. It has been immortalized in La Dolce Vita and Roman Holiday and crooned about on the radio: Lunapop's 1999 paean to the 50 Special translates "School's not going well, and I don't have a girl / but I've got my Vespa." On My Vespa: Italy on the Move is likewise a hymn to the sleek and stylish "wasp-like" vehicle that buzzes along nearly every street in Italy and is for sale all over the globe, from Venezuela to Senegal. It features essays on the history of Vespa production and on the company's vibrant advertisement campaigns, as well as a complete filmography of the scooter and countless photographs of riders on their own treasured models, including John Wayne, Gary Cooper and Jean-Paul Belmondo. Despite the great changes in global transportation since the Vespa was first designed by aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio in 1946, the iconic scooter remains as popular as ever and remains one of the most recognized and beloved objects in the history of Italian design.