Everything you need to know about the Vespa--the iconic, stylish, and environmentally friendly scooter--is contained in this colorful and engaging volume. Vespa fans will delight in combing the pages of this history of the world's most recognizable scooter. Written in cooperation with the manufacturer, Piaggio, it tells the story of the scooter's origins in postwar Italy, when the rebuilding of the country necessitated an affordable and modern means of transportation for the masses. Italian for "wasp,", the term Vespa caught on quickly, but the scooter achieved international stardom when Audrey Hepburn hopped on Gregory Peck's Vespa in the film Roman Holiday. As a result, a vehicle originally designed as utilitarian came to symbolize style, freedom and romance. The book includes a gatefold listing the Vespa models from 1943 to today along with images of Vespas throughout the decades, including the most iconic designs as well as today's luxury editions. In colorful photographs and text this volume also traces the succession of technological and stylistic improvements that have helped maintain Vespa's status as one of the world's iconic scooter brands.