Vespa. An Italian icon

The exhibition celebrates the Eighty years since the patent was filed the Vespa, a vehicle that has evolved over time from a simple means of transport into a fully-fledged a symbol of Italian culture around the world. The exhibition itinerary, based on a project by the National Automobile Museum and edited by Roberto Donati e Rino Drogo, is based on the extraordinary personal archive of Marco Fumagalli. His passion, which stemmed from a desire to own a Vespa 50 Special Revival in the summer of 1991, led to the creation of a systematic collection which today brings together fourteen must-have styles from scooters to a vast array of scale models, collectables, memorabilia, posters, magazines and film posters.

Visitors can explore a real visual atlas organised into six thematic areas: The Early Days, Success, The Revolution, The 1980s, The New Direction and The Vespa Club of Italy. The exhibition presents a dense layering of images in which the Vespa traverses the languages of Twentieth century, becoming ingrained in the collective imagination. A special feature is devoted to the works of Mimmo Rotella, a leading figure in post-war Italian art, who, with his famous take-off reinterprets the iconography of the scooter in a close dialogue with photographs and promotional material of international standing. A story spanning three generations that bears witness to the Vespa’s ability to set trends and reflect society’s expectations.