Italian giants Piaggio have opened a new museum in Tuscany, showcasing the rich and colourful history of its historic motorcycle brands, which include Aprilia, Gilera, Moto Guzzi and Vespa.

The new museum, in the Tuscan city of Pontedera, is almost twice the size of its old facility, at 5000 square metres, and has more than 250 exhibits, making it one of the largest collections of classic motorbikes in Europe. Among the new collections are ones dedicated to the iconic Piaggio Ape, the three wheeled workhorse that has been a familiar sight on Italian roads since 1948, and an area devoted to racing, featuring the machines of Aprilia, Gilera and Moto Guzzi, which between them have a combined 104 world championship titles across various disciplines.

The opening of the new museum coincided with the 50th anniversary of the legendary Vespa Primavera scooter, with more that 10,000 ‘Vespisti’ flocking to Pontedera last weekend. Revellers at the ‘Color Days’ festival were able to visit the new museum and take a tour of the Vespa factory, while also taking in the party set up in the ‘Vespa Village’ in the town centre.

If you fancy seeing it all for yourself, the museum is open from Tuesday through to Saturday and is free to visit, although you do have to book in advance through https://www.museopiaggio.it/en/ where you can also find features on the historic bikes displayed.