THE NEW HEADQUARTERS OF THE VESPA HISTORICAL REGISTER IS ALSO OPENED IN THE MUSEUM’S HISTORICAL ARCHIVE
May 2024 (G.T.) – Inaugurated on the first day of the great “Vespa World Days 2024” event (18-21 April, Pontedera), the new, unmissable exhibition at the Piaggio Museum – “In tutto il mondo - Vespa – All Over the World” has already been visited by thousands of enthusiasts from all over Italy and abroad.
Visitors have until16 November 2024 to take “a trip around the world with Vespa”: indeed, the exhibition is dedicated to the global success of the famous scooter, which was first produced in Pontedera (in the Piaggio facilities that turn 100 this year) back in 1946.
And this is how the exhibition is introduced to visitors, welcoming them with the giant entrance poster. “From the very first few years following its birth in 1946, Vespa has enjoyed global success, enabling it to cross oceans and break down borders, bringing Italian technology and style to the streets of the world.
Internationalisation of the Vespa, with a focus on the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France and Europe, and further afield, in India, Asia and the Middle East; in Brazil and South America, the USA and the rest of the world. All this and more are just waiting to be discovered, on the bilingual display panels (Italian and English), in the film footage and through the vintage vehicles that make up the exhibition at the Piaggio Museum.
Over 78 years of history, and with more than 19 million units sold, Vespa has revolutionised transport all over the world, uniting generation after generation of young people in a single passion. As the first truly global mobility brand, Vespa has generated a series of cultural phenomena, each specific to the different contexts embraced by the brand, to the point of becoming a driving force: it has steered changes in fashion and accompanied countries and continents as they have grown, racing alongside them in times of economic boom.
Vespa is now enjoying one of the brightest moments in its history: sold all over the globe, it is the world’s most famous and best-loved two-wheel vehicle, bringing together millions of passionate enthusiasts.
To mark the Vespa World Days 2024 in Pontedera, the Piaggio Museum is celebrating and narrating the ways in which the Vespa has made its mark around the world, using documents and images from the Piaggio Historical Archives to retrace the story of its early forays into the international market, between the late 1940s and the 1960s.
ORIGINAL MODELS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.
Through the reconstruction of an imaginary (and global) assembly line, and thanks to the generosity of the collectors who have loaned original models produced and fitted out all over the world, we can now invite you to come and get to know this genuine global “citizen”, which has been built, assembled and exported to all five continents since the period immediately following the Second World War.”
The models on display at the exhibition: United Kingdom: Vespa Douglas 125 “Rod”, Model 1953, on loan from Martino Castiglioni. United Kingdom: Vespa 150 GS “Quadrophenia” 1960, on loan from Luca Coriani. Sweden: Vespa 125 “Popolino” 1959, on loan from Martino Castiglioni. India, Vespa Bajaj 1966, Piaggio Museum Collection. New Zealand: Vespa 90 SS, 1970: on loan from Martino Castiglioni. Germany: Vespa Hoffmann 125 Königin, 1954, on loan from Luigi Frisinghelli. Germany: Vespa Messerschmitt 150 GS, 195, on loan from Franco Carboni. France: Vespa ACMA TAP 1956, Piaggio Museum Collection. Spain: Vespa Motovespa 125, 1953, Piaggio Museum Collection. Spain: Vespa Motovespa 125 Super, 1967, on loan from Gerardo Ardanese. United States: Vespa Sears 125, 1966, Piaggio Museum Collection. United States: Vespa Cushman 150, 1961, Piaggio Museum Collection. United States: Vespa Allstate 125, 1952, on loan from Silvano Bellelli.
(Photo courtesy of Alessandro Lanzarini, Vespa Club d’Italia).
THE EXHIBITION IS FREE TO ENTER, BOOKING IS NECESSARY.
The procedure for accessing the exhibition is the same as that for entry to the Piaggio Museum:
www.museopiaggio.it/en/book
THE NEW HEADQUARTERS OF THE “VESPA HISTORICAL REGISTER”
IS IN THE HISTORICAL ARCHIVE OF THE PIAGGIO MUSEUM IN PONTEDERA.
Dual “ribbon cutting” on 18 April 2024: in addition to the “In tutto il mondo - Vespa - All over the world” exhibition, the new headquarters of the VespaHistoricalRegister has also been opened. The President of the Piaggio Foundation, Mr. Riccardo Costagliola, explains: “The new headquarters of the Vespa Historical Register is located in the Piaggio Historical Archives of the Piaggio Foundation and Museum in Pontedera. The task of cutting the traditional ribbon fell to its ‘historic’ President, Luigi Frisinghelli, accompanied by the other Commissioners of the Historical Register, representatives of the Piaggio Foundation, the Piaggio Group, the Vespa World Club and various other institutions.
The relocation of the headquarters of the Vespa Historical Register to Pontedera represents a further step towards the recognition of the Piaggio Museum and the Piaggio Historical Archives as the undisputed reference for all Vespa lovers around the world. Indeed, in the coming months, the Technical Commission that is responsible for assessing historic Vespas and issuing the relevant type-approval certificates will be held in Pontedera.”.
The Vespa Historical Register - a little history. “The Vespa Historical Register was founded on 7 December 1980 at the Vespa Club Italy convention in Legnago. The main purpose of the register was - and still is - to protect and disseminate a culture dedicated to conserving and restoring historical Vespas.
VESPA HISTORICAL REGISTER, VINTAGE PASSION:
www.registrostoricovespa.it
The Vespa Historical Register, one of the first of its kind in the world of two-wheel vehicles, was established well ahead of its time, at the start of what would later become the Vespa collecting boom, triggering a host of subsequent initiatives in this field. The first Conservator, Milan-native Mario Carini - an important figure in Italian Vespa culture - soon realised how important the conservation of these vehicles was for the history of motorcycling. The current Conservator, Luigi Frisinghelli, is also an expert collector, and a long-standing connoisseur in the sector.
NEXT EVENT: 34th International Meeting of the Vespa Historical Register
in Rosciolo de’ Marsi (Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy), 12-14 July 2024.
Programme and registration: www.registrostoricovespa.it/il-34-raduno-internazionale-del-registro-storico-vespa-a-rosciolo-de-marsi-12-14-luglio-2024
During the first few years, it was difficult to kick off a sector that was still unknown. The promoters themselves had no knowledge or record of individuals who had conserved vintage Vespas, but they dedicated themselves to protecting the heritage of technical, historical and cultural information related to the existence of the Vespa, drawing on their expertise to make people aware of the methods of conservation of vintage Vespas.
Source: www.registrostoricovespa.it/raduno-nazionale-a-viterbo-9-10-9-2023
The first activities organised by the Vespa Historical Register were Vespa or specialist shows, exhibitions to mark special events and parades of elegance reserved for vintage Vespas; each of these events not only helped to pique the public interest in vintage Vespas; it also brought Vespa fans together, allowing them to exchange useful information for anyone wishing to try their hand at restoring or conserving a vehicle.
Source: www.registrostoricovespa.it/33-raduno-internazionale-a-favignana-tp-27-9-1-10-2023
The activities of the Historical Register have grown year on year both in Italy and abroad, to the extent that in 1988, a special event - the International Meeting of the Vespa Historical Register - was established. The Historical Register operates through the National Technical Commission, which met for the first time in Bologna in May 1986. The main task of the Commission is to provide the type-approval certificates for Vespas. All models built by Piaggio from 1946 to 1983 can be registered.
REGISTRO STORICO VESPA, PASSIONE VINTAGE:
www.registrostoricovespa.it
Vespa Historical Register: type approval request:
www.registrostoricovespa.it/domanda-omologazione
Frame numbering from the Vespa 98 (1946) to the Vespa PX (1983):
www.registrostoricovespa.it/dati-matriciari
The first Commission met in Bologna in 1986, and was composed of Luigi Frisinghelli, the current President and Conservator of the Vespa Historical Register, Secretary Roberto Leardi (current President of the Vespa Club of Italy) and other expert commissioners, including Giuseppe Stefanelli, the unforgotten President of the Vespa Club of Pontedera.””.
Riccardo Costagliola, Presidente Fondazione Piaggio.
From left, Roberto Leardi and Luigi Frisinghelli;; source: www.registrostoricovespa.it/raduno-nazionale-a-viterbo-9-10-9-2023
PIAGGIO MUSEUM:
www.museopiaggio.it/en
VESPA CLUB D’ITALY:
www.vespaclubditalia.it
