75 years young
From the moment it burst onto the scene in a nation that was in a post-war rebuilding phase and brimming with ideas, creativity and hope, Vespa has represented a zest for life and a desire to embrace the future. It has become an icon of freedom and emancipation for young people the world over, combining effortless, distinctive Made in Italy style with cutting-edge technology.
Vespa was anoriginal, useful and beautiful productthat immediately won over the hearts of a post-WWII public when Italy was clamouring for a comeback. Vespa’s creator, Corradino d’Ascanio, was an ingenious designer with atechnology-first mentalitywho blendedcreativity and mechanical engineeringinto afunctional, aerodynamic and simplevehicle.
Beginning in the mid 1960s, the mass media began to use the term Mod, associating it with anything deemed to be popular, fashionable, or modern. “Mod” was closely connected to the youth movement of Mods or Modernists – and inspired subsequent movements beyond the UK, where it was born. With their modern aesthetic and political charge, the Mods acted as a mouthpiece for the youth’s desire for change. They used the road as their stage and looked to Italy as a reference point, both in terms of style and mobility.
