The Vespa, Italy's iconic scooter, revolutionised travel when Piaggio launched it from its factory in Pontedera, 25km southeast of Pisa, in 1946. The complete story – from the Genovese company's arrival in Tuscany in 1921 to its manufacturing of four-engine aircraft and hydroplanes, to its WWII destruction and rebirth as the only Vespa factory in Europe – is grippingly told in Pontedera's Museo Piaggio, in a former factory building.
The 'wasp', as the two-wheeled utility vehicle is affectionately known, has been restyled 120 times since its creation.