The Vespa, the wasp-waisted scooter that put postwar Italians on wheels and went on to carry Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn through the streets of Rome, is returning to the capital this week to celebrate its 80th birthday.

From June 25 to 28, Rome is hosting "Vespa Roma 2026 – 80 Years of an Icon", a four-day gathering centred on the city's Foro Italico and the Stadio dei Marmi, which has been turned into a Vespa Village of exhibitions, races, parades and club events.

Launched in 1946 by Piaggio, the Vespa became a symbol of Italy's rebirth after World War Two: cheap enough for a battered country, stylish enough to seduce the world, and practical enough to weave through the alleys of Naples, Milan and Rome.

It has since become one of Italy's most recognisable design exports, appearing in films such as "Roman Holiday" with Peck and Hepburn, advertisements and holiday brochures.

Vespa has been in continuous production for 80 years, undergoing around 160 restyling updates and selling nearly 20 million units worldwide, including just over two million in the past decade.

Today, the scooter is sold in approximately 100 countries, mainly across Europe and Southeast Asia, and is manufactured in three production plants in Italy, Vietnam, and India.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

ROME, ITALY (JUNE 27, 2026) (PIAGGIO GROUP PRESS OFFICE - Access all) (MUTE)

1. VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF VESPA RIDERS RIDING ALONG VIA DEI FORI IMPERIALI

2. VARIOUS OF VESPA RIDERS RIDING ALONG VIA DEI FORI IMPERIALI

ROME, ITALY (JUNE 27, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

3. VARIOUS OF VESPA RIDERS RIDING NEAR COLOSSEUM

4. VARIOUS OF VESPA RIDERS DRIVING THROUGH THE STREETS OF ROME

5. VESPA RIDER BLOWING A TRUMPET WHILE DRIVING

6. VARIOUS OF VESPA RIDERS DRIVING THROUGH THE STREETS OF ROME

7. COUPLE OF VESPA RIDERS CARRYING A DOG ON THEIR VESPA

8. VARIOUS OF VESPA RIDERS DRIVING THROUGH THE STREETS OF ROME

9. VARIOUS OF VESPA DRIVERS RIDING NEAR COLOSSEUM

10. VESPA RIDER FROM TEXAS, DAVID BAAMONDE, REMOVING US FLAG FROM HIS VESPA

11. STICKERS ON BAAMONDE’S VESPA

12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) VESPA RIDER FROM TEXAS, DAVID BAAMONDE, SAYING:

“We have a strong passion for Vespas, we watch Vespas in the movies and we have thirteen Vespas in Texas, and we wanted to ride our classic Vespa in Rome for this 80-year celebration with the largest Vespa gathering in history. So we brought our 'Vespa Allstate' from the United States, I brought it to Germany and then I put it in a van from Germany to Austria. And then in Austria, I rode, I got on my Vespa, and I rode it all the way to Rome, 1,200 kilometres”

13. VESPA WITH DOGS AND COLOSSEUM PAINTED ON THE SIDE

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) VESPA RIDER FROM POMEZIA, ROME, GIUSEPPINA SERRA, SAYING:

“A 1974 vehicle, the Vespa never lets you down. We’ve made it all the way to Turkey, toured Spain and Portugal, travelled all around Italy, and Eastern Europe. It’s a faithful companion”

15. SCOOTER DECAL

16. STICKERS ON VESPA/ PARKED VESPAS

17. VARIOUS OF SPIDER-MAN TOY ON VESPA

18. CAR

19. HELMET

20. VESPA ENTHUSIASTS FROM PHILIPPINES

21. (SOUNDBITE) (English) VESPA RIDER FROM PHILIPPINES, ABET RANA, SAYING:

“In the Philippines, Vespa is very famous. So we know of 'Roman Holiday' and the movie 'Luca'. So all generations, from the old people to the young people, we all know Vespa”.

22. VARIOUS OF VESPA RIDERS DRIVING THROUGH THE STREETS OF ROME

23. VESPA RIDERS RIDING NEAR COLOSSEUM

24. VESPA RIDERS TAKING A SELFIE WITH COLOSSEUM IN THE BACKGROUND