80 years of Vespa
Style & the Art of Living
Eighty Summers on Two Wheels
"Freedom has a shape. Sometimes it is slender, light and made of steel — and it sounds like an Italian summer."
A feeling of living
The Vespa is one such thing. Born in 1946, in Pontedera, drawn by Corradino D'Ascanio — who, in truth, had no love for motorcycles. Slender, curved, no oil on the trouser legs. A hum that lent it a wasp's name. Eighty years on, it has become no mere vehicle, but a cherished object.
And in 2026 it returns to where it always looked most beautiful: to Rome.
From 25 to 28 June, the Eternal City becomes a stage. *Vespa Roma 2026 – 80 Years of an Icon* is, according to Piaggio, the largest celebration in the brand's history: tens of thousands of Vespisti, clubs from forty-eight nations, four days in which a way of life takes possession of the city. Admission free. For the Vespa belongs to everyone.
The heart beats at the Foro Italico. The Stadio dei Marmi, ringed by its marble figures, becomes the Vespa Village — workshop of memory and showcase of the future at once. Rare historical models stand beside the current range, beside fashion and a store world of its own. Past and present park side by side, as though time were merely a question of paintwork.
Then the days begin.
Thursday: the Village opens at midday. A commemorative coin is unveiled, Poste Italiane issues a special postmark, and the photographic exhibition *80 Years of Vespa* (curated by Giacomo Bretzel) tells of form and influence. In the evening: music, light, Radio Deejay.
Friday: the day of the clubs. The European Vespa Rally championship, the world Gymkhana championship — speed and skill in close quarters, a quiet smile over every clean curve.
Saturday, the day everyone waits for. In the morning, the Grand Parade: thousands of Vespas from every era move through Rome, past the places one knows from postcards — an explosion of colour the city has rarely seen.
Sunday ends as it should: in elegance. The Concorso di Eleganza presents the rarest models — beauty on two wheels, appraised with a calm eye. At three in the afternoon, the Village closes.
The city of the Vespa: Rome
"In Rome we celebrate not merely a brand, but a way of life that has shaped generations the world over," says Davide Zanolini, who leads global marketing at Piaggio. It is a fitting sentence. For the Vespa was never a promise of speed. It was always a promise of lightness.
Everything is part of an a•modo composition.
To celebrate eighty years of Vespa is to see Rome with different eyes: not as a backdrop, but as movement.
Whoever follows the Vespa learns that style is not a question of effort, but of bearing – quiet, free and unmistakably Italian.
LA COMPOSIZIONE
The essence of the journey.
Design, Dolce Vita and the Italian way of life, all under the sign of an icon.
Rome, Italy – Foro Italico, Stadio dei Marmi & the streets of the Eternal City.
A curated cultural journey around eighty years of Vespa: four days in which industrial history, style and joie de vivre become a sensually tangible urban experience.
- A visit to the Vespa Village at the Stadio dei Marmi — historical models, current collections, a curated brand world.
- The photographic exhibition *80 Years of Vespa* (curated by Giacomo Bretzel) on the stylistic and cultural influence of the brand.
- The Grand Parade through historic Rome as a collective, atmospheric experience.
- The Concorso di Eleganza as the quiet climax: the rarest Vespa models in a ceremonial setting.
Light · stylish · full of life
Those drawn to design and culture, lovers of the Italian art of living, private clients, small groups, discerning individual travellers with a weakness for icons.
A curated premium travel concept centered around a limited-time event. Suitable for tailor-made bookings and exclusive special trips in June 2026.
WHY THIS JOURNEY
STRENGTHENS
YOU AS A
TRAVEL DESIGNER
YOU SELL AN EXPERIENCE THAT EXISTS ONLY ONCE.
Eighty years of Vespa will not be repeated. Four days, one place, one icon — scarcity that cannot be staged, because it is real.
YOU OFFER CULTURE WITHOUT SOUNDING DIDACTIC.
Style, design and the art of living explain themselves here. Parade, exhibition and Concorso di Eleganza follow a clear inner logic that every guest grasps at once.
YOU CREATE RELEVANCE FOR CLIENTS WHO ALREADY KNOW ROME.
This journey shows the Eternal City from an unfamiliar perspective — in motion, in colour, in the rhythm of a singular event. That is exactly what speaks to those who have long since seen the usual.
YOU OFFER A PRODUCT WITH LITTLE COMPARISON.
An open, free festival, set within a curated premium arrangement of location, timing and experience — a combination that cannot be standardised.
good to know
How did the Vespa come about?
The Vespa was unveiled in 1946 by Piaggio in Pontedera — designed by the aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio. Its enclosed, curved body and its distinctive hum gave it the name Vespa (Italian for "wasp"). Within a few years, a promise of mobility for the post-war reconstruction became a worldwide symbol of style, freedom and the Italian art of living.
What is the Foro Italico?
The Foro Italico is a sprawling sports complex in the north of Rome. The Stadio dei Marmi that stands within it, lined with monumental marble statues, forms the setting in 2026 for the Vespa Village — the heart of the four days of celebration.
Vespa Roma 2026 – 80 Years of an Icon, 25–28 June 2026, Rome. Admission free, supported by the City of Rome.