Vespa riders take to roads in Rome to mark 80th birthday

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 II: 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.