Vespa Riders Take Over Rome for Iconic Scooter’s 80th Birthday

Rome became a moving celebration of Italian style as Vespa riders gathered in the capital to mark the scooter’s 80th birthday.

From June 25 to 28, the city hosted “Vespa Roma 2026 – 80 Years of an Icon”, a four-day event centred around Foro Italico and the Stadio dei Marmi. The area was transformed into a Vespa Village, with exhibitions, races, parades, club events and hundreds of riders bringing one of Italy’s most beloved design symbols back to the streets that helped make it famous.

For travellers planning a visit, the celebration is another reminder of how deeply cinema, design and street life shape the city’s atmosphere. My full guide to things to do in Rome includes classic sights, hidden corners, scenic viewpoints, night ideas and iconic experiences across the Eternal City.

Launched by Piaggio in 1946, the Vespa quickly became a symbol of postwar Italy: affordable, practical and elegant enough to capture the imagination far beyond the country’s borders. Its curved, wasp-waisted silhouette made it instantly recognisable, while its ease of movement suited the narrow streets of Rome, Naples and Milan.

The scooter’s global image was sealed by films such as Roman Holiday, where Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn rode through Rome in one of cinema’s most memorable travel scenes.

Eight decades later, Vespa remains one of Italy’s most successful design exports. Nearly 20 million units have been sold worldwide, with production continuing across plants in Italy, Vietnam and India.

In Rome, its 80th birthday felt less like nostalgia and more like proof that some icons never really slow down.