Just after the return from the Vespatour I’ve been quite busy in setting back on track the projects I was working on, but at the same time I managed to make a selection of the pics I took along the tour to show them to friends.
It was task much more difficult than it may appear since every pic has a story to tell for me, so you can understand how engaging has been to select only 4 out of them to post on the blog.
Before getting to the pics the graphics on the left is a rough representation of the 4200 km route I followed: from Como to Milano, Torino, Genova, Rapallo, Monterosso al Mare, Marina di Massa, Forte dei Marmi, Lucca, Pisa, Pontedera, Livorno, Vinci, Firenze, Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, Montieri, Siena, Cortona, Arezzo, Assisi, Norcia, Melezzole di Montecchio, Marmore, Roma, Caserta, Bisceglie, San Giovanni Rotondo, Vieste, Loreto, Recanati, Rimini and back to Como.
The first pic represents a total surprise: she is Sophia, the Vespa Peter Moore rode in his trip around Italy. I couldn’t believe I would have found her in the workshop-museum of Marco Quaretta in Livorno, so I took the chance to take a pic with Peter’s book in my hand.
The second one was shot in Forte dei Marmi while I was having an aperitif with Federico Farioli, the country manager of the just launched Handango Italia, the italian branch of Handango, the leading content provider for mobile devices. Federico is a as much young as talented in my opinion, so I’m sure the new portal will grow fast.
In the third one I had a unexpected meeting with Alberto, Angelo and Claudio of the Mantova’s Vespaclub when I stopped in a restaurant in Palazzetto for lunch on my way to Siena. We had a very pleasant conversation and had a big laugh when they called me the “Vespista del 2000” (2000’s Vespa-raider) when I showed them my Vespa with the GPS system.
The forth is very special, it’s my Vespa on the Colle dell’Infinito in Recanati with the Monti Sibillini on the background. I took it the last day of the journey from just below the walls with the hedge that inspired Giacomo Leopardi to write his masterpiece poem, L’infinito.
Being able to visit that particular spot - it’s possible only since 2003 - has been one of the numerous surprises the journey reserved for me.
I’m working on a photographic album. I’ll print it to show it to friends and I think I’ll be able to make it viewable online.
For the rest of story you’ll have to wait for the book, including the name I decided to give to my Vespa…

After 4200 Km riding on my Vespa - not including those done on foot -, 1400 pics taken while leaving myself to be totally amazed by the finest pieces of art the human genius created, from the Birth of Venus by Botticelli in Florence to the magnificent Sistine Chapel in Rome, just to name a few of the masterpieces that impressed me the most, then being captured by the atmosphere of the Palio dell’Assunta in Siena and by the numerous enogastronomic sagre in Umbria, being kissed by the sun while bathing into the sea of Puglia and finally being delighted by hearing the different dialects spoken by the people of the italian regions I went through… well, I’m back home in Como with so many things to tell that a book would be the most appropriate way to deliver this intense travel experience to you!
I think a book would also be a nice way to thank all the friends who helped me making this trip real and the people I had the pleasure to meet along the way.
I’ve got other priorities at the moment, with a lot of work to do to continue my software projects, but the idea of the book is consistent enough to be taken seriously.
My GPS-enabled Vespa GTS 250 i.e. did a wonderful job bringing me from north to south and back home and I think this sentence written on a old advertisement I spotted at the Museo Piaggio in Pontedera fully reflects its value as a symbol of freedom for italians of all ages: “One day a small plane left his wings in the sky to become a myth on the ground“.
It has been a wonderful experience, well worth all the hassle. I hope you also had a happy time and some good relax during this August and you’re now getting back to work with renewed energy.

On my Vespa at the Colosseum in Rome, a pic shot by Monnalisa… well, it actually was a girl with a black shirt with “Monnalisa” written on it!