Eyestylist

Ciro Tugnoli Takes to the Road on a Vespa!

29th November 2013 Continuing our series on “Designers Off Duty” – Blue Magic Eye designer Ciro Tugnoli shares his Vespa Rally adventures with Eyestylist.

“Vespa is the traditional scooter in Italy since forever….I started with my first Vespa at eighteen years old – not as young as people usually start. I began with an old one from my brother. I took part in my first “Vespata” in 2003. There are several Vespa weekends and meetings around the world, but I usually take part in the one that is held every year – usually in May in Bologna. It’s not really an official Vespa weekend; it’s more a crew of friends that plan a “clandestine” ride across the Bologna hills. We meet each other (I think we are about 300 Vespas) in a Bologna city centre square, and after a quick ride in the city centre (where people look at us with a lot of curiosity!), we start to climb the hills across the city. We drive for approximately 40km. It’s quite hard to drive a 50cc Vespa, sometimes with two people on it (Guya Montermini Blue Magic Eye Design Partner often accompanies Ciro), climbing the small streets up to the hills.

“Luckily, several stops are planned where we can enjoy a beer, a glass of wine and some music….The finish line is in Lojano, in a countryside manor called Palazzo Loup. This is where we usually eat some sandwiches with “mortadella” or some “pasta al ragû”, and we can just relax and enjoy the sun. This is also the place where the real competition takes place. Only the bravest can take part at “Gimkana” – a grass track full of the unexpected! I would love to collect vintage Vespas, but it’s an expensive passion and a lot of space is needed to store them. You must ride your vespa – not leave her inside a box. At the moment I have two: a PX50 from 1982 – my first Vespa – and a Vespa 50’s from 1960. I’m thinking about a bigger one – maybe 125/150cc – we’ll see what I’ll ride next springtime……” www.bluemagiceye.com JG