This year once again the Piaggio Group’s most exciting and representative brands took a starring role at the season’s most exclusive date with fashion, style and shopping in the chic heart of Milan.
The fifth edition of Vogue Fashion’s Night Out, organised by the world’s number one fashion magazine on the night of 17 September, was held in central Milan, in the fashionable streets that have made Italian style so famous.
Spazio Broletto, the classy Piaggio Group showroom, proved to be one of the night’s hottest locations, an immediate draw for Milan’s nocturnal fashionistas.
Enlivened by the performance of “We are Presidents”, the DJ trio composed of OZ, Paul and Manuel, Spazio Broletto welcomed hundreds of people, including large numbers of the young and very young captured by the lure of the dance and techno music. The three artistes, from three different musical backgrounds, offered their fans all the best of their art and music. The party created an ideal mood to celebrate the two most exclusive two-wheeler brands: Moto Guzzi and Vespa, represented at the Milan event by the stunning California 1400 and Vespa 946, the essence of style and design, symbols of Made in Italy, matchless examples of the creativity and technology that have made the Italian motorcycle industry famous around the world.
The Vespa 946, the most luxurious Vespa ever produced, was displayed to the fashion elite in its “Ricordo Italiano” version, the 2013 Collection, available in elegant Black and White palettes. Directly inspired by the models that created the legend, the Vespa 946 is already a cult object, the ultimate expression of a unique design that took Italian style out into the world.
Both versions of the Moto Guzzi California 1400 – the Custom and the Touring – were on show, the two different souls of a sumptuous bike, heir to a tradition founded on a passion for travel and on-the-road adventure. Driven by the most powerful V-twin engine ever developed in Europe, today the Moto Guzzi California is the technological benchmark for large cruiser bikes.

PHOTO GALLERY

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This year once again, Vespa was one of the sponsors at the Literature Festival in Mantua, an international kermesse held in September in the city of the Gonzaga family. A host of names from international literary circles had the opportunity to present their latest works in this splendid setting. Vespa, a symbol of freedom and renewal, was the ideal partner for the most keenly anticipated event in the festival program, the meeting with former footballer and player for the national French team, Lilian Thuram. The champion, a member of the French team that won the 1998 World Cup, is now an ambassador for Unicef, and devotes his life to raising awareness about the problem of racism. He presented his work “My Black Stars” in the magnificent Palazzo San Sebastiano.
“I became black at the age of nine, when I came to Paris,” Thuram told his audience, recounting his story with dignity and irony and explaining the reasons that led him to write the book. His condition only began on his arrival in a new community, giving him a “status” he had to come to terms with. Racism, the author explained, stems from a lack of knowledge and a consequent relativisation of history, which fuels discrimination. School is the place where the belief in cultural differences can be eliminated once and for all, by teaching children about the origins of man and his evolution within a global context.
Thuram’s black stars are also an historical excursus examining many figures who have helped change the course of history but are excluded from Western school syllabuses. From Lucy, the “mother of man”, to Barak Obama, not forgetting Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali: these are the life stories and the “black stars” Lilian Thuram relates with passion.
Vespa, the standard bearer for individual freedom, a carefree spirit, a legend that embraces the entire planet, was the ideal partner for the festival. The Italian scooter that has had such an influence even on literature since the first Vespa scooter appeared, was also displayed on a stand in Piazza Mantegna for the duration of the festival.
Visitors were able to admire the new Vespa 946, the most exclusive model in the range. A unique style, superb construction quality and excellent materials distinguish the Vespa 946 – available in the “Ricordo Italiano” 2013 Collection – from all other two-wheelers. The use of aluminium for the first time on the Vespa’s frame makes for a lighter vehicle. The scooter’s power house is a state-of-the-art 3-valve electronic-injection 125cc engine, guaranteeing lower consumption (more than 55 km with a litre) and reduced exhaust and sound emissions (a 30% cut in polluting emissions). The all-LED lights, double-disk braking with ABS and ASR traction control – unique features on a scooter this size – complete the technical specifications, for a vehicle that delivers cutting-edge active safety and immense riding pleasure.

An important new success for Venetian artist Luca Moretto: his work VESPA VENICE – previously shown at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011 International Art Exhibition) – is now on exhibit at the Piaggio Museum in Pontedera (Pisa).

Moretto’s eclectic work draws admiring observers, standing next to other “artistic gems” like the Vespa signed by Salvator Dalì and the two-wheeler decorated by Ugo Nespolo, or Mino Trafeli’s remarkable Vespa. Now, they are joined by the contemporary style, powerful colours and musicality of the work of a dreamer and highly imaginative artist. The scooter, a Vespa 50 N from 1967, has undergone a Pop inspired makeover executed with flair, the result of personal research into materials and lively colours.

VESPA VENICE AT THE BIENNALE

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“After the Venice Biennale, the exhibit at the Piaggio Museum is the fulfilment of another great dream,” says Moretto. “Basically, my passion for engines and for colours, the core of my life, was what led me to work on the Vespa, a piece of Italian history; and it is appropriate, that after so many years and with a touch of renewed originality, my Vespa Venice should come back home.”

VESPA VENICE AT PIAGGIO MUSEUM

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How did your Vespa project start?
“Way back in 1998, as a joke I decided to decorate a friend’s Vespa, with no great pretensions about the final result; I decided on a synthetic base, painted all the decorations in relief by hand, and applied a transparent synthetic top coat. When my friend rode around on that Vespa, it caught everyone’s attention, and when he parked, people would stop and ask him about it and take photos.
In 2009 (I had begun working as an artist, partly from passion, partly because after an accident I couldn’t do anything else...), I was asked to repeat the project, but this time using proper restoration criteria. The idea was to achieve maximum quality, on a vehicle that is an original except for the parts I worked on, on which I exercised ‘poetic licence’. In other words, the background colour, for which I chose a bright white to ensure my colours would stand out, the leather saddle and the handgrips, which I wanted to be brown, not black. While I was working on the scooter, a close friend saw it and exclaimed ‘Vespa Venice’, which gave me the idea for the name. The scooter makes you think of confetti and streamers at the Venice carnival; I’m a Venetian so the idea of combining two names with such powerful worldwide communication value appealed to me.
Every time I work on a project, I also think about how it can be developed and attract interest, so I take the time to see how communication can help.”

How many Vespa scooters have you decorated so far?
“Two: the Vespa Pop in 1998 and the Vespa Venice in 2010”.



And are you a Vespa enthusiast?
“I had a Vespa in my teens, and enjoyed restoring it, but I was so determined to have a motorbike that I sold it, first for a Gilera SP01 125 and then for a Ducati MONSTER 900 I’d been in love with for years. In 1999, when I was 22, a minor accident turned into a tragedy. As a result of medical malpractice, I lost my left leg below the knee, and after that, although I’d already ridden motorbikes and scooters, I decided it was better not to ride two-wheelers any more. On the other hand, I think that without the accident and everything that followed, I would never have embarked on an artistic career... So I focus on the positives that came out of the accident and the loss of my leg. I always try to be optimistic about life, even when something bad happens.”

When did you start painting?
“I’ve been attracted by art since I was a boy and always wanted to create something of my own, and my first ‘painted’ work was the Vespa Pop in 1998. In 1996 I designed a highly coloured pullover, which I made up with my mother’s help. In 2000 I decorated a number of small urns and plates, because, although I couldn’t do anything else, I decided I could still make gifts for my friends, who had been helping me and my family after the accident.
My friends gave us great support.”

ESo what was your first work?
“I would say the pullover I’ve just mentioned. I designed one in 1996 (I’ve still got the drawings), in a check pattern, and I made another one, again with my mother’s help, in 2000.”

How long has the Vespa Venice been on exhibit at the Piaggio Museum?
“After being displayed at the FUORISALONE in Milan in 2011 and shown at the 54th Venice Biennale, in the Italian Pavilion curated by art critic Vittorio Sgarbi, it received an invitation from the Piaggio Museum and arrived in Pontedera on 26 July 2012. It’s displayed on the stand and registration plate used at the Biennale.
I’m very proud of the fact that my Vespa Venice is photographed and admired by so many visitors from all over the world; above all, that it has been placed next to Vespa scooters decorated by world-famous artists like Mino Trafeli, Ugo Nespolo and Salvador Dalì. I consider myself, indeed I am, an emerging artist, so it is a great honour and a source of great pride to see that my project has been so well received. I might add that my Vespa is the only one in the Piaggio Museum to have been shown at the Venice Biennale and included in the official catalogue of the Italian Pavilion.
I worked hard following every detail of the restoration, I organised a special photo shoot to have photos worthy of all the effort that went into the project, I supervised the production of the videos, to show how long and painstaking this undertaking was; I also exhibited the scooter at major events, but above all I began dreaming about the Piaggio Museum, because, as far as I was concerned, that was where the scooter should go. As I’ve learned, and as I always try to tell people, if you really believe something will happen, then it will. That’s why you should always take a positive approach and believe in what you’re doing, in your dreams! It all depends on you, always."

Which other Vespa scooter would you like to decorate?
“If I could, I’d like the new Vespa 946, the design is fantastic. With all those details harking back to the great Vespas of the past, it’s a successful modern take on the Vespa, much like FIAT’s new interpretation of the 500 in 1999. So I’d like and hope to produce a Vespa Venice 946 before too long!”

But how does the 500 come into it?
“Let’s go back to the initial concept of creating a Vespa artwork, using the scooter as the canvas: a concept many people enjoy, but criticised by purists who believe the Vespa should only be restored in its original colours. But this isn’t a Vespa: it’s a Vespa artwork! Moreover, I’m Italian, and the Vespa is an Italian icon, which I would say is reason enough. When I decided to do this art project with the Vespa, when I registered the copyright, I told myself that the Vespa is the world icon for scooters made in Italy, just like the FIAT 500 is the world icon for ‘super-mini’ car made in Italy. These two vehicles were the symbols of a particular period, the exuberant and optimistic 1960s: the Vespa and the 500 were the vehicles the average family wanted, cost-effective means of transport they could afford. Remember all the photos and films of whole families and their luggage on a Vespa, or going off for a day out at the seaside, or the FIAT 500s packed with 7 or 8 people.
So my VENICE project is to decorate a vintage Vespa and a new Vespa (ideally a 946), a vintage 500 and a new one. Because now, as then, these are two world icons that mean Italy.”
(www.morettoluca.net)

An itinerant television program presenting the Belpaese, aboard two Ape Calessino vans: this is “Road Italy”, the RAI 1 broadcast which, over the summer, with a daily 10-minute diary and a 50-minute program on Saturdays, invited Italians to discover… Italy. A total of 14 episodes and 65 daily diaries transmitted from June to August, covering six regions: Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, Campania and Lazio.
Emerson Gattafoni, Valeria Cagnoni and Claudio De Tommasi are the presenters and authors of the series (produced by the RAI with Gekofilm), which repeated the success of the 2012 edition. You don’t change a winning team: so this year once again Piaggio was one of the collaborators on the RAI TV series. In addition to the two stylish Ape Calessino vans, the program used two Piaggio Porter vans to transport the editors, cameramen, sound engineers and filming and editing equipment.
The instantly recognisable caravan travelled through towns and villages, streets and squares, in search of less well known beauty spots, places, people and specialities: castles, churches, artists, master pasta makers or oenologists, local produce and crafts, the products of creativity, taste, gastronomy and imagination.
The program illustrates the best of “hidden” Italy, the less familiar but equally fascinating areas, and also the fun of travelling aboard the delightful Ape Calessino.

Emerson, where did the idea for this TV format come from?
“In January 2012, at a meeting at the RAI, I was encouraged to develop an on-the-road TV format in Italy, given my long experience producing travel and discovery programs around the world.
So I decided to tour Italy’s provinces; and during the preparations I had the idea of using the Ape Calessino, with its vintage charm and glamour. A pilot was broadcast on the RAI 5 digital network, and attracted a warm reception for its content and visual quality.”

And in 2013 the program was promoted to RAI 1, Italy’s flagship channel…
“Yes, the Road Italy TV format was confirmed this year with the move to RAI 1 and of course we kept the whole structure of the project, with the Ape Calessino and the Porter vans for the production crew.”

How many miles did you cover travelling round Italy?
“During the two editions of Road Italy, we clocked up more than 8,000 miles, entirely on provincial roads, for an experience full of unforgettable meetings and wonderful sensations, and the vehicles always aroused great curiosity, to the point where we seem to have created a genre. We’ll be back in 2014 for the third edition, again on the RAI. Long live the Ape Calessino!”.
Emerson Gattafoni’s enthusiasm, shared by the entire crew, is well founded: the Piaggio Calessino was certainly a contributing factor to the success of the program, which is currently attracting interest from foreign broadcasters like Brazil’s TV Globo.
(Fonte immagini: www.roaditaly.rai.it)

ROAD ITALY

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