The "Happy Birthday Vespa" exhibition, curated by Filippo Lotti, will open on Thursday, April 23, starting at 5:00 PM.
The Piaggio Museum will welcome visitors and residents until 8:00 PM for a happy birthday toast to the Vespa.

A collective project has taken shape in the outdoor spaces of the Piaggio Foundation in Pontedera, blending industrial heritage with contemporary urban art forms. To mark the 80th anniversary of Vespa — patented on 23 April 1946 — six Tuscan artists from the graffiti and street art scene were invited to create six large-scale works (2x3 metres) live, using spray paint and stencils as their primary tools of expression.

Danmariti, LDB, Umberto Staila, Skim, Freddy Pills and Forma have each interpreted, in their own style, the Vespa icon as a symbolic object capable of transcending eras and settings.
The works, created in situ and in direct dialogue with the architecture and history of the site, establish a dynamic relationship between heritage, identity and the contemporary: an artistic dialogue between past and present. In this context, Vespa becomes a narrative icon and a visual pretext for exploring themes such as movement, freedom and design.

Each artist develops their own distinctive style: from graphic and illustrative lines to textural effects, from a cartoon-like style to dynamic compositions and the use of stencils, from marker strokes to the colourful application of spray paint or acrylics. The result is a diverse yet coherent mosaic, in which urban culture engages with a 20th-century icon, renewing its meaning without betraying its essence. This project thus takes the form of a collective tribute to Vespa, a pop icon and expression of Italian design.

Documenting the artistic performance is a video created by Slava Viacheslav Zakharov, which captures the temporal and process-oriented dimension of the project, offering an immersive and dynamic glimpse into the creation of the works. The result is a visual narrative that amplifies the experience and extends its enjoyment beyond the event itself.

The works, exhibited at the Piaggio Museum to celebrate Vespa’s 80th anniversary, will become part of the Foundation’s heritage, which will ensure their conservation, promotion and enhancement over time.

The exhibition will remain open until June 30, 2026, during the opening hours of the Piaggio Museum: click here

Per info:
Museo Piaggio
Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 7 - 56025 Pontedera
Tel: 058727171
museo@museopiaggio.it
www.museopiaggio.it