After a difficult time in the 1940s, the Italian factory Piaggio wanted to build something small, cheap and useful that would help families get around. The designer, Corradino D'Ascanio, wanted a vehicle that anyone could ride - even in a skirt or smart clothes - with a comfortable seat and no greasy bits to step over.
The first Vespa rolled out in 1946. It had a tiny engine, a single seat, a step-through frame and a curvy metal body. It was so different from a motorbike that people came up with a brand-new word for it: 'scooter'. Within a few years, you could see Vespas zipping through Italian streets in every colour you could imagine.
The Vespa has appeared in lots of famous films - the most famous is probably 'Roman Holiday' from 1953, where two people scoot around Rome. After that, the Vespa became a symbol of Italy itself: warm sunshine, narrow stone streets, a friendly buzz on the way past.
Today, more than 19 million Vespas have been made. They are still built in Italy in the same Pontedera factory, and they are still designed in much the same shape. If you put a 1946 Vespa next to a brand new one, you can tell straight away that they are part of the same family.