Roam in today`s chariot

PHOTOS BY MICHELE BORZONI/TERRAPROJECT FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
ante
en. Deft of
m
l
i
c
l
n
sk
that’s
l cou
icipa t now all death ma
n
u
m
u
d
B
e
r
.
l
s, o
300 is so-cal d plot). k to
prior or in 1
h
as
re
city’s d as a pri palace is nte-inspi nd the m a real
i
n
s
e
f
a
i
n
o
v
h
e
D
d
r
e
t
v
e
n
c
’s
e
s
n
in
n
on
e a y. Not
of
poet
Flore
sed
Brow
ircas
ost
’m in hat’s left et the o part of steep sta ck balcon ction ba of the
on P
I
t
t
g
u
n
b
o
shi
(als ount a all’s ba constru ements s in a
ut w
cent,
eat p
e Wa
r
it
I m of the h
gnifi to seek o d the gr ated by
a
o Th
a re
easu
t
w
, it s
m
l
s
l
a
n
i
left ask, it’s ns and m g object re, narro ’t
all i ission: d. Wou o domi ere to
e
h
Spec
h
e
t
h
a
n
l
n
o
s
i
w
m
r
m
i
b
T
a
k
t
y
o
c
D
e
,
t
a
t
o
p
i
I
h
s
i
w
h
n
ON
e if
deat en descr n eerie-lo ureau in artifact.
e
his c
treet
ffere
eval
AMM
at th - a di e’s medi thing in t chitectur d these s
OH
d
G
e
writt skull. A f atop a b iscarded
r
R
t
r
r
y
e
a
o
d
MA
un ll of Fl
alk
d
Dan nize an rt and
e
w
H
p
tsel
oet’s
ead
e
a
e
s
F4
eh .
Fiv city ha r neck
cog ance a
L-sh Vec- p x all by i oking lik
e
m
f
r
i
e
o
t
h
i
s
l
t
o
t
ed on
e
o
e
l
s
s
g
o
u
i
b
a
h
h
l
o
a
o
d
a
a
n
t
t
t
l
,
z
i
e
H
r
s
,
n
z
s
t
e
o
e
s
io
e
ar
ng
ng
la
e con
orrid
n th zo Vecch are crani ey’re tryi seek Return? Thas 700 ye hen I cro h the Pa te’s foot
is
renc
- c
“
n
z
c
r
h
w
w
s
a
n
o
a
a
t
l
,
T
r
l
e
,
—
l
D
s
left,
a
.
l
r
u
i
f
g
t
”
P
sari
ask, nni.
ter a mornin oria to wing in o this was
tour upward a trova
f
a
,
m
a
V
e
c
h
a
en taring s “cerc
eat
on a nferThis ella Signally follo come t when it the
Giov
ed d
d
ve often
er
and s the word find” — plot of “I Dan
-call za di San
a
g
t
a
z
o
i
n
l
h
z
s
i
s
a
i
’s
s
u
l
d
iaz
eri
Italy,
spot you shal res in the ller by s.) In P hio, I wa te woul building riori, ho
d
n
lighi at the P
A
u
n
e
u
P
r
c
e
o
y
s
a
g
t
a
t
r
D
ei
ur
an
and l that fi st bes
oon
cul tori-cent
zzo d
teps.
bino
ter D
ftern
vels a
a
r
mura the late ou need as art his e in s f-the-14 th the Pala
t
f wri sunny a
o
r
n
e
Y
c
tio ove, a
no,” n. (Hint: , Brown h s Floren ante o nown as
truc
graph 6
o
t
k
cons chio. Ab
e
o
r
h
Brow test book ing acros d with D .”
F
p
? A zo Vec
e
o
nius
Post n camera.
his la gdon rac ’s obsess l “Infern
n
al ge he Palaz
v
o
e
t
i
o
a
n
t
d
g
h
n
Me
t La d guy w he origi
d in
ashin ng vistas o
laye
ober
t
W
disp
A
an R it of a ba uthor of
u
unni
DER
t
purs ieri, the a
s
N
I
y
F
n
ma
Aligh
EW
e is
c
n
e
r
Flo s star
s
’
t
e
o
p
it
l
e
l
i
h
t
t
s
,
s
s
year e, but he’
0
0
7
After by chang
nded
u
o
r
r
su
BY
I
VI
g its
rin
captu
Roam in today’s chariot
From the seat of a Vespa,
the Eternal City takes on
an enchanting perspective
BY
K ELLY D I N ARDO
Special to The Washington Post
ALESSANDRO PENSO FOR THE WASHINGTON POST VIA ONOFF PICTURE
A ride of your life: Annie Ojile, center with blue helmet, is the brains behind Scooteroma tours.
Sitting on the back of the Vespa, I watch the dark
green sedan inch closer and closer. We’re stopped
at a traffic light, and the car’s Italian driver,
chatting busily on his cellphone, isn’t paying attention. Just as his vehicle drifts across the lane and
threatens to knock into us, the driver of my scooter
slams her palm down on the hood. Startled, the
man snaps back to reality and hits the brakes.
Thelightchanges,andourVespahurtlesforward,
leaving the chaotic knot of Roman traffic in the dust.
Ciao, amici!
This wasn’t my first Audrey Hepburn moment in
Rome. Several months earlier, I’d clung to a friend
as he scooted us to dinner on an all-too-brief ride
that was both a wind-blowing-through-my-hair
thrill, taking us past dramatically lit churches and
ruins, and a white-knuckle terror as we swerved
around distracted drivers and gaping tourists.
Italians’ love affair with the Vespa has been
going on since 1946, when the manufacturer Piaggio first introduced the wasp-shaped scooter (vespa means wasp in Italian) to the market. When
Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck buzzed
through the Italian capital in the 1953 film “Roman
Holiday” — the first in a long line of actors to pose
astride a Vespa — the scooter’s popularity shot into
overdrive. Today, the Vespa is one of many modern
rome continued on F5
The Navigator on a proposed change in how we purchase plane tickets. F2 Bed Check gets comfy in a trendy hotel in
(well, near) Richmond. F2 What a Trip does a double-take in the Caribbean. F3 Escapes hits the (grass) slopes in Virginia. F8
ALSO INSIDE