These three vehicles tell the story of Italian transportation over the last half century more than any other. After WWII, Italy was war-ravaged and poor, and in the late 1940s the Piaggio company created the Vespa (wasp), as a means of cheap transportation. Shortly after, they created the Ape (bee, pronounced ah-pay), which was not much more than a three-wheeled Vespa with a cab and two wheels in the back. These two vehicles put Italy on the road, enabled workers to get to jobs, and allowed farmers to take produce to market. They are both still widely used today, and just like wasps and bees, they can be heard long before they are seen.
In the late 1950s, as Italy began to industrialize and workers needed more mobility, Fiat introduced the 500 as a replacement for the Topolino. They made hundreds of thousands of "cinquecentos" through 1975, and they were the perfect vehicle for young Italian families. Many people who bought them in the 1960s are still driving them today.
Here are photos of these three vehicles we've seen in our travels...
Joe, and his "not another car picture" wife...
I have to admit... I like the cars more than the churches!
ReplyDelete--Bob