photo: vespa tour through Italian countryside

Vroom!

Rome can make anyone a sensualist. With its sheer magnitude of art, history, dining, and lore, the city is so full of splendor that you might find yourself wide-eyed and dizzy just trying to take it all in. What better way to capture the endless panorama - from cobblestones to cathedrals to piazzas to the Pope's window - than a tour on a Vespa?

photo: the stone sculpture Bocca della Verità

You a liar? The "Mouth of Truth" might bite off your hand.

Toss your maps, buy a gelato, and welcome the breeze on your face as you sit on one of the iconic bikes with your arms wrapped around a guide from HR Incentives. Your guide will navigate the vintage motorbike down Via dei Fori Imperiali toward the Colosseum, pointing out sights en route just like Gregory Peck did for Audrey Hepburn in the film Roman Holiday. The tours, which are customized to your interests (and are available in other Italian cities as well) cover some famous highlights from the movie, including a stop at the stone sculpture Bocca della Verità, the "Mouth of Truth." (Careful - legend has it that the mouth of the sculpture will bite your hand if you're a liar). Then you'll see the Vittoriano at Piazza Venezia, where your guide may mention how locals snicker at the architecture of this memorial monument and call it "the typewriter" or "the wedding cake" for its shape and color. As much as you might get a kick out of little secrets like these, what you'll really cherish are the unexpected reactions you'll get from tourists and locals alike. They'll slow to admire your vintage ride, and - without your telltale accent and tourist maps - you'll feel every bit as reckless and fabulous as the passerby surely think you are.

"On a Vespa, you can see what Rome gives to you," says HR Incentives guide Alessandro, explaining, in charmingly broken English, that the ride gives you the opportunity to view everything around you. And when it comes to the city's association with - and loyalty to - the stylish bike, he makes the perfect comparison: "The scooter stays to Rome like the cheese stays to pasta. You can't eat pasta without cheese."

Posted on February 06, 2006