The Vespa is 80 years old. There was a big party in Rome. Thousands of people rode their scooters through the city. The parade went past the famous Colosseum. Fans came from the whole world. Many people came from Germany and Austria too.
Enrico Piaggio and Corradino D'Ascanio invented the scooter in 1946. After the war people needed a cheap vehicle. The Vespa was easy to ride. Women could ride it while wearing a skirt. Today there are almost 20 million scooters worldwide. The Vespa is a sign of freedom.
The scooter is popular in Austria. The family Faber sells Vespas there for 62 years. Almost 150.000 scooters ride on Austrian streets. Famous politicians like to ride them too. In the future there will be more electric Vespas. Companies work on batteries to swap.
