Every operator in Rome writes “safety first”. It costs nothing to write.
So this page gives you the things you can check yourself — a licence number, an insurance limit, a procedure —
and the one thing we refuse to do even when a guest insists.
The short version: a licensed guide whose number you can look up on the
Ministry of Tourism register, third-party cover up to €6,000,000, a riding test before anyone is handed a key,
and a check on every Vespa before every departure.
Riding a scooter in Rome carries real risk, and nobody can take that away — not us,
not a platform, not a waiver. What follows is what we actually do to reduce it, written so you can verify it
rather than trust it.
Who takes you out
Not a rotating pool of drivers. Every ride is led by Francesco Lapenna, who owns the business and
has been running it himself since 2016.
That link is a government page, not ours. Ask any Rome operator for the same thing: a name and a
register number you can look up before you pay. If it doesn’t come back, you have learned something useful.
Before anyone is handed a key
This applies to the self-drive tour, where you ride your own Vespa behind the guide.
What happens before we leave
You need to already know how to ride. We are not a riding school, and Roman traffic is not
the place to learn. A scooter or motorcycle licence valid in Italy, and real riding experience.
A ten-minute briefing. The Vespa itself, the controls, how the brakes respond, the route,
the hand signals we use, and how Rome traffic actually behaves — which is not how it behaves at home.
A short test ride, away from traffic, while we watch.
If the test doesn’t go well, you don’t get the key.
That last one is the whole point. It is better to find out in a quiet corner of Monti than on Via del Corso with
four people behind you. It happens rarely, but it happens, and we would rather lose the booking than hand a
125cc scooter to someone who cannot ride it.
And if you don’t pass it?
You don’t lose your day. The first thing we offer is the seat behind a guide: you still do the whole tour,
you just don’t ride it yourself. If that doesn’t suit you, we work something out with you on the spot.
There is no rule printed on a card, because the situations are all different — a nervous rider on a wet morning
is not the same as someone who has never touched a scooter. What there is, is a person standing in front of you who
would rather sort it out than have you leave unhappy.
If you’d rather not ride at all, you don’t have to:
on the guided ride you sit behind a guide and simply look at Rome.
The Vespas
Nine Piaggio Vespas, registered for hire without a driver — a specific legal category in Italy,
and the one a scooter must hold before it can legally be rented to you. It is worth asking about: a scooter registered
for private use and rented out anyway is a problem you would only discover after something went wrong.
Every Vespa is checked before every departure: brakes, tyres, lights, fuel. Not a form to sign — a look,
by the person who is about to ride out in front of you.
Insurance, and what it does not cover
InsurerGenertel
Third-party liabilityup to €6,000,000
Each Vespa carries third-party motor cover up to €6,000,000. That is the cover required by Italian law, and it
pays for damage caused to other people and their property.
What it is not: it is not personal accident cover, and it is not travel
insurance. If you are injured, your own travel policy is what responds. We would rather tell you that here than
have you assume otherwise.
Any operator can tell you they are insured, because every registered vehicle on the road has to be.
The useful question is the one on this page: which company, and what limit.
Helmets, and riding with children
Helmets are provided for everyone and are included in the price. We carry child sizes XS and XXS,
so a child is not sent out in an adult helmet that moves on the head — which is the usual reason a family is
turned away elsewhere.
What Italian law requires
A passenger under five years old cannot be carried on a two-wheeled vehicle. This is national
law, not our policy, and no operator in Rome can make an exception to it.
The passenger must sit stably and in balance, in the seating position the vehicle provides —
in practice, able to reach the footrests and hold on for the whole ride.
We take children from five, with one condition. They have to reach the footrests and be able
to hold on for two and a half hours. Most five-year-olds manage; some don't, and that has more to do with height than
with age. If your child is small for their age, message us before booking with their age and height and we will tell
you honestly whether it will work — which is better for everyone than finding out on the morning.
If you are travelling with children and want to know honestly whether the ride suits their age,
message us before booking rather than after. Sometimes the answer is the
walking tour, and we will say so.
Five questions worth asking any Rome Vespa operator
Including us. If an answer is vague, that is the answer.
Who is the guide, and are they licensed? Ask for the name and the register number.
Ours is Francesco Lapenna, no. 12000261 — look him up on the Ministry of Tourism register.
Whose scooters are they, and are they registered for rental? Ask for the registration.
Ours are nine Piaggio Vespas, road-registered and inspected, rented under our own licence.
What insurance covers me if I come off? Ask which company and what the limits are.
Ours is Genertel, third-party liability up to €6,000,000.
What happens if I turn out not to be able to ride? Ask before you pay, not on the morning.
With us: a test ride first, and no key if it doesn’t go well.
Who actually turns up? On a platform booking, the operator may not be who you think it is.
Book here and it is Francesco.
Still deciding?
Ask anything on WhatsApp before you book — including the awkward questions. You will get an answer from
Francesco, not a contact form.
