REPORT AND IMAGES OF TWO DAYS OF JOY, EVENTS AND MUSIC TO CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF VESPA PRIMAVERA.
Pontedera (Pisa), 21-22 April 2018 – FIRST STAGE: THE VESPA FACTORY. From 9 am on the first day of the big Vespa event, Saturday 21st, there is a festive atmosphere. Our tour begins at the entrance of the Piaggio factory, on Viale Rinaldo Piaggio, coloured with posters that "embrace" the trees. There are already many people ready for the experience, for many first-time, of visiting the Vespa factory, where the famous scooter has been made without interruption since 1946.
Families with children, young people, long-standing Vespa enthusiasts, Italians and foreigners: those who had booked online on the dedicated website move quickly, the others still have the opportunity to register at desks and "conquer" a place on the nice white electric trains. And you can also do some shopping among the Vespa gadgets, helmets and accessories. The tour lasts 45 minutes: many “Ooohs!” of marvel meandering through the assembly lines, with their nose pointing upwards to admire the aerial line that carries the coloured bodies to the assembly line. “It looks like a toy factory!” exclaims an enthusiastic child. And also the adults have the same ecstatic gaze as the little ones.
The 2 Wheeler vehicles exhibition area provides a good overview of the models produced in this factory. The trains go up and down throughout the day, always loaded with visitors, from 9.30 am to well past 7 pm, to meet all requests. But then, it is a rare occasion to visit the factory: the last was two years ago, in 2016, celebrating the 70th anniversary of Vespa. The next opportunity? Who knows…perhaps in 2021 for the 75th anniversary!
SECOND STAGE: THE PIAGGIO MUSEUM. The numerous Vespa scooters of the fans who have flocked from all over Italy and abroad for the party, with a significant presence of Vespa Clubs, form an impromptu exhibition, along the avenue between the factory and the nearby Piaggio Museum, just inaugurated in its renewed look, with new large rooms (which retain the charm of industrial architecture) and even richer collections of historic vehicles of the Piaggio Group brands (not only Vespa but also Piaggio, racing Gilera and Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Ape, etc.). In an area of 5,000 square metres there are more than 250 pieces exhibited, many rarities: we are in the largest and most complete Italian museum dedicated to motorcycling, one of the first in Europe.
Not at all austere, it is a welcoming and colourful place, fun to visit between one collection and another. And there is also the “FuturPiaggio – 6 Italian lessons on mobility and modern life” exhibition (inspired by the homonymous volume by Jeffrey Schnapp, created to celebrate the 130 years of history of the Piaggio Group, also on sale in the Museum's new and attractive shop), open until 10 June 2018. One surprise after the other, a never-ending attraction.
In the areas in front of the Museum, there are also the Ape's in street food version that offer delicious specialities, and the Vespa Live music 1968-1978 stand (the first of the 5 "decades") with entertainment until the evening. There are two merry Pandas wandering around (available for a selfie), protagonists of the new Vespa advertising campaign (“Live more Vespa” is the claim). In the Museum Auditorium, the attraction is the Poste Italiane (Mail service) stand where you can pick up the postcard with special postage stamp cancellation dedicated to Vespa.
THIRD STAGE: VESPA VILLAGE. Continuing towards the city centre, Piazza Martiri della Libertà is unusually and colourfully adorned. There is the Info Point where people can pick up the "passport" and return it at the end of the tour, after having collected the stamps of the various locations of the party, to receive a delightful free gadget (a customised cap with the Vespa Days logo).
There is the shop with a wide range of Vespa accessories and official 50th anniversary clothing and merchandising. There is the Vespa on Tour stand, from where the guided Vespa rides start, in order to enjoy the most evocative routes in the area on the saddle. There is the stage of the Music Party where, on Saturday night, the Street Clerks band performed. In each of the areas that mark the 5 decades of history and success of Vespa Primavera (1968-1978; 1978-1988; 1988-1998; 1998-2008; 2008-2018) there is live musical entertainment; they are scattered between the Piaggio Museum, the Vespa Village and along the central Corso Matteotti, enhanced by the exhibits of all models of the Vespa range. For two days the city of Pontedera resounds with notes and colours.
VESPA COLOR DAYS PASSPORT & CAP. In the end, more than 10,000 fans will have enjoyed the extraordinary experience of the Vespa Color Days 2018.
Those who visited all the areas of the event and collected the seven stamps (5 decades plus factory and Piaggio museum) received the customised cap with the logo of the event, in memory of an unforgettable experience. Even Raoul (the little dog of a Vespa enthusiast reader) likes it, "showing it off" with a certain ... style!
READ ALSO: GREAT SUCCESS FOR THE VESPA COLOR DAYS!
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