Planet Ride Interviews Today, Roberta, travel Specialist in Vespa and Fiat 500 cabriolet in Italy. She knows perfectly well her country and its unsung nooks, but still superb and authentic. She shares with us her story and her idea of the journey:
Can you introduce yourself in a few words:
Your first Name: Roberta
The country (s) Proposed: Italy
When did you open your agency? En 2003
Why did you choose Italy to settle in?
This is my country, I returned there in 2002 after living a few years in Africa. After this absence I saw it with a different look, I found it so beautiful with its variety of landscapes, its artistic and also human heritage, a perfect place to organize rides in Vespa and Fiat 500 cabriolet.
Does your agency present a peculiarity to other agencies in the territory?
Our agency has chosen to own the rented vehicles in order to guarantee a good maintenance condition.
What’s your story? How did you end up proposing motorized trips this country?
In 2002 I was living and working in Zanzibar, my daughter was 3 years old. I decided to return to Italy so that she could approach Italian culture, her great poets, Dante and his Divina Commedia above all. Today at the age of 16 she does not show a great interest in this, but I have not yet lost hope! Once in Italy my husband had the idea to do tours in Vespa and we started, first with a small fleet that grew every year.
On which machine do travelers turn when they travel with you and Planet Ride?
Our fleet includes 120 Vespa Piaggio LX and Special 125 cc with automatic gearbox which can be driven with driver’s license B (CAR) and 10 Fiat 500 cabriolet.
Why this choice of gear?
Vespa and Fiat 500 are worldwide the symbols of a certain Italy, Italy of Federico Fellini, Italy post-war industrious, Italy of the economic boom of the years 60, in short of the art of living Italian.
What makes a trip to your destination unavoidable for you?
Our travels give the opportunity to discover unsung corners of Italy: non-tourist places that know how to surprise by the beauty of the landscape and the authenticity of the people.
For you, what is the real difference between a simple trip and a motorized trip?
In a motorized journey moving from one stage to another is part of the journey itself, it represents the discovery of the territory, a way of owning it. A motorized journey values the spirit of freedom and discovery.
What is the biggest advantage to making a motorized trip in the countries you propose?
The beauty of the landscapes, the quality of the gastronomy, the easy driving of our vehicles. Our Vespas have automatic gearboxes.
What is your favorite place in the destinations you offer? You got a picture?
Hard to say… I keep from each region some beautiful images, but Puglia are really special, a unique, fascinating and magical place, there is sometimes the impression of not being really in Italy. A client told me that in front of the Trulli of Alberobello she expected to see out of the little gnomes… And then the millennial olives, works of art of Nature, they express power and wisdom at the same time.
What’s your best memory of wrinkle?
I was following a group of about thirty Vespa. A downpour of rain and hail begins to fall. We stop at the first habitation along the way to ask for shelter in their shed. The owners invite us home, in a large room heated by a traditional wood cooker. A real “Nonna” (grandmother) in the care of a good “minestrone” takes out her 10-cup mocha coffee maker to offer us coffee several times. The disadvantages of travel often bring the most beautiful surprises, unpredictable and authentic moments.
A word to the future Planet riders?
Whether it’s Vespa or moto, Fiat 500 or Quad, a motorized trip will leave you a deep and durable feeling, which comes from the active experience.
