Mauro Pascoli, 60 years old, is the King oF Vespa. He has some rare spare parts and he sells it all over the world. “My clientele is made up of 50 per cent of Italian collectors and an equally 50 per cent of foreigners”, he says. “And we not only sell to Europe but also to Australia, New Zealand and Latin America. We have something like 40.000 items”. Mauro is a very courageous entrepreneur and his courage has been rewarded by an activity that is very flourishing even in this period of great crisis. “Despite the bad period we are experiencing last year we have increased our revenue by 20 percent and 2021 has also started very well”.
In his museum you can admire vehicles that not even the most imaginative mind could imagine. A few examples? “The oldest ever that I own is a 98 produced at the end of 1946 and left the factory on January 7, 1947. Then we have a Vespa 400 from 1959, the only Vespa car that has been produced in France at the Piaggio Acma factory1 . In Italy there are about a hundred registered with Italian plates or with their original French. Another piece of French production to admire is undoubtedly the Vespa TAP, a unique military Vespa complete with combat equipment. A privileged place in my heart, regardless of its value, however the PE 200 of Franco Ortolani has it, a man who was a celebrity of Vespa, he spent his life for the Vespa and for me he was like a second father”.
And again: “In my museum there are about 200 pieces of Vespa and other Piaggio vehicles, including Ape, outboards, mopeds and even a T111 mini tractor from the seventies. What do you dream of having? All the ones I miss. In my museum, however, there is really everything: from Vespa-shaped bottles of grappa, even a Vespa lollipop, a lot of models and a collection of current and vintage toys The Piaggio museum in Pontedera – points out Pascoli – tells the story of production, while mine tells the whole Vespa world: from toys to models, from posters to wooden and ceramic art objects. I think every enthusiast should visit both, because in Pontedera there are prototypes and motorcycles that have never been produced. My museum is not a competitor to that of Piaggio. They are two similar and at the same time different structures”.
