From 18 to 21 April the great Vespa World Days rally for fans from all over the world. Four days in the saddle between the Lands of Pisa. 

tickets banner

Free and carefree, young forever. It is the Vespa, one of the most representative global icons of Made in Italy, a vehicle that changed the way we move and which from the Second World War to today embodies the desire for easy and free mobility. Young like Princess Audrey Hepburn in the classic movie "Roman Holiday", in which driving a Vespa enhanced the enthusiasm of the young aristocrat together with the serious Gregory Peck.

But the Vespa is also the "splendid forty year old" for Nanni Moretti, who dedicated an ad hoc episode of his delightful movie "Caro Diario" to the vehicle. Because the most famous moped in the world spans generations and is loved by all. Since the dawn of its history, so much so that the first international Vespa rally was held in Paris as early as 1954. Today therefore marks 70 years of these gatherings and Piaggio is ready to celebrate the next Vespa World Days, the annual meeting of Vespa Clubs from all over the world which will be held from 18 to 21 April in Pontedera.

Enjoy the fun with a Vespa Tour in Tuscany
Vespa World Days, Nanni Moretti

Nanni Moretti in a scene of "Dear Diary", episode "In Vespa"

Nanni Moretti dedicated the first episode of his film "Caro Diario" to the Vespa, which won the prize for best director at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. The actor-director shoots "In Vespa" in a sunny and hot summer Rome, meeting Jennifer Beals (the protagonist of Flashdance) and arriving at the Ostia seafront to pay homage to the memory of Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Discover the most famous movies set in Rome

Vespa World Days 2024 “Lands of Pisa”

Vespa World Days 2024 “Lands of Pisa”

Vespa in a row under the Tower of Pisa

The 2024 edition of Vespa World Days takes place from 18 to 21 April and is dedicated to the "Lands of Pisa". It includes four days of itineraries to discover the villages and landscapes of the Tuscan hinterland, from Peccioli to Volterra, from Monte Pisano to under the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The aim is to allow participants from all over the world to experience a real "Tuscan Experience" in the places where the Vespa was born, in Pontedera in the spring of 1946, where the factory - which is celebrating 100 years of activity - still produces models for Europe.

But you have to know that its birth has something of a coincidence, it is due to the somewhat stubborn resourcefulness of Enrico Piaggio, who wanted to challenge himself with new ideas and projects and thought of a simple vehicle with modest management costs. Until then, anyway, Piaggio had made aircraft and the same engineer to whom young Enrico asked for the vehicle, Corradino d'Ascanio, was an aeronautical engineer!

He was reluctant to the project, but he understood that it was necessary to make a virtue of necessity to adapt the Piaggio and the factory close to Pisa to the circumstances, with little money around and even less petrol to fuel any vehicle. The aeronautical experience, in summary, proved successful and it was from this that the intuition of "wings under the feet" came, as Lunapop would sing half a century later about the Vespa 50 Special.

Discover Pisa with a guided tour and tasting of Tuscan wines

The 2024 edition of Vespa World Days celebrates 70 years of international rally

Vespa World Days 2024 “Lands of Pisa”

A meeting of Vespa Vlub

54 national Vespa Clubs and another 660 Vespa Clubs will meet in Pontedera, ranging from Argentina to Australia to give you an idea. A monstrous motorcycles rally with thousands of Vespa enthusiasts from every corner of the world (estimated to be 8,000!) and a wonderful area to discover, that of the Lands of Pisa, with its rolling hills, ancient villages, parks and nature reserves, the sea a stone's throw away. Always starting from the Vespa Village set up in Pontedera.

In the four days from Thursday to Sunday, Vespa enthusiasts will have the opportunity to take suggestive group trips that embrace the places of the Valdera: Peccioli for example, recently elected "village of villages 2024" and a virtuous model of environmental sustainability. Here Vespa enthusiasts will pass through the famous "Endless Sunset" walkway on the occasion of the parade and will be able to admire the view from the suspended terrace of the Timeless Palace.

Itineraries that are available to anyone and also on other dates in addition to those of Vespa World Days. In fact, Tuscany lends itself to two-wheel fans, motorcyclists and cycle amateurs, and it is here that the legendary Strade Bianche takes place on unpaved routes (but in the Lands of Siena). So a way to return to these places and riding the vehicle we prefer.

Visit Siena, Pisa and San Gimignano and taste the fine Tuscan wines
Vespa World Days 2024 “Lands of Pisa”

Peccioli, the “Endless Sunset” catwalk created by the artist Patrick Tuttofuoco

Vespa, a story that was born… with airplanes!

Vespa World Days 2024 “Lands of Pisa”

With its load-bearing body and the visual absence of the engine, the Vespa had the merit of not dirtying the driver and the passenger behind, often a girl sitting as a rider. For many generations it has embodied the freedom to move comfortably, due to sitting in an upright position and with arms not bent on the handlebars. This made it easy to drive and women also liked it. Before ergonomics entered the vocabulary, therefore, D'Ascanio invented ergonomics!

The story is well known: the first model from 1946 had a 2-stroke 98 cubic centimeter engine with 3 gears and reached 60 km per hour. Above all, it managed to overcome gradients of 20% in first gear and with one liter of petrol mixture it could cover 40 kilometres! Ideal for the cities and non only. It cost 55,000 euros (less than 2,000 euros today) and those who could chose the higher trim costing 61,000 euros. As for the 1946 engine, it didn't last long because two years later the 125 cc displacement was adopted and, moreover, Piaggio also fitted the rear suspension.

Discover the Chianti hills on tour ith Vespa

The Vespa in contemporary culture

Vespa World Days, Disney special edition

The Vespa Mickey Mouse special edition made with Disney

About Vespa we can quote the proverb that you can understand a winning horse at the start. A few years after his debut on the road, there was the sparkling first time on the set in the mentioned movie "Roman Holiday" by William Wyler. From there a succession of appearances, cinema, literature, pop music would have extended the myth and so the Vespa ended up in our contemporaneity.

Just think of "Luca", a 2021 animated film by Disney and Pixar and set in Italy, in the wonderful setting of the Cinque Terre in Liguria. And a special Mickey Mouse edition was also created with Disney.

Enjoy the magic of Cinque Terre with a boat tour

From the Triennale in Milan to the Moma in New York passing through… Dakar

Vespa World Days 2024 “Lands of Pisa”

Giorgio Armani and Piaggio president Roberto Colaninno at the presentation of the Vespa 946 Emporio Armani

Always in step with the times, Vespa is always fashionable. This is demonstrated by the Armani and Dior designer versions of the Vespa 946, while Sean Wotherspoon colored the Primavera version. And it's never out of place either! At the 1980 Paris-Dakar, the "real" ones that crossed the Sahara, two Vespa PX 200s arrived without a hitch at the finish line on the beaches of the capital of Senegal.

Today the Vespa is exhibited at the Museum of Italian Design at the Triennale in Milan and even at the Museum of Modern Art - the famous MoMa - in New York. However, there is so much to discover in Pontedera, the Piaggio Museum here is worth a visit during the Vespa World Days, but also after. In fact, the “Vespa All over the world” exhibition will be inaugurated on April 18th, which will remain open until November 16th 2024.

Come to explore all the glamour of Armani Hotel in Milan

Vespa, the most loved (and the most copied)

Vespa World Days 2024 “Lands of Pisa”

The Electric Vespa

If a swallow doesn't make a spring, the Vespa does! With almost 20 million units produced from 1946 to today, the Piaggio group produces the Vespa in three factories: beyond Pontedera, one in India and one in Vietnam. It can be said of Vespa that it was the first truly global brand in the motor industry. But it must defend itself from the attacks of many clones produced by improvised companies and brands. As happened at the 2018 Milan Motorcycle Show (Eicma), when obvious Asian clones of the Vespa Primavera appeared on the stands.

The complaint was filed and their exhibition was blocked, but many times Piaggio had to go to court to enforce its patents and property rights. Even the European Intellectual Property Office (Euipo) has established the uniqueness of the Vespa, fining and prohibiting counterfeits, at least 50 in recent years alone.

City Sightseeing Milano: Bus Hop-on Hop-off

We recommend


LA DOLCE VITA
LA DOLCE VITA

Subscribe to our weekly Newsletter dedicated to the Italian culture, art and traditions.

We recommend