Early Christmas For Italian Man As Vespa Turns Up 35 Years After It Was Stolen

When his shiny new Vespa was swiped off the streets of Milan in 1976, its owner figured it was gone for good. And then last week, a call arrived from the police in Sicily. A nice holiday surprise, but at 84, the reunited owner may have to let someone else drive.

*NEWSBITES

MILAN - Just in time for the holidays, an 84-year-old Milan resident has been reunited with his…Vespa.

The classic Italian scooter, a Vespa 50 Special, which had been stolen in Milan 35 years ago, was found in Sicily (more than 900 miles to the south) on a routine police roadside check near the village of Buccheri.

The man was 49-years-old when he bought the white 50 Special, among the most popular models of the 1970s, still considered an icon of Italian design with its long saddle for two seats, and the box on one side. The recovered vehicle was in surprisingly good condition, despite a bit of rust and part of the box missing.

Police called the home of the registered owner, whose son answered. “My dad will be happy,” he said. Indeed the holiday reunion story has one last serendipitous nugget: though he’s lived in Milan since his youth, the victim is a native of the Sicilian city of Catania, just up the road from where his long-lost scooter was found.