As more and more people around the globe tuned into the barganews site an interesting fact started to emerge; many people had little idea what the coloured machines were that occasionally turned up in the images of the streets in Barga.

We are of course talking about the APE the 3 wheeled trucks which are a feature of the narrow streets of Barga. It can be said without any trace of exaggeration, that these tiny buzzing APE have changed the face of post war Italy. A cheap means of transporting goods avaliable to almost everybody.

In most of the winding narrow streets of Barga Vecchia, the only means of moving goods, such a wood for the winter is the dear old favourite : the APE (Ape.Italian.noun: bee, insect)

The first Ape of 1948 retained all the fundamental aspects of the Vespa Scooter, but within a three-wheeler structure; along with the front and the 125cc engine which Piaggio began equipping its scooter with the same year in place of the original 98cc. Cost 170,000 Italian Lire. The genial aeronautical designer D'Ascanio, inventor of both the Vespa and the Ape, explained that, "Our task was to fill the gap in post-war utility vehicles which meant putting onto the market a small-engined motorcycle van with low consumption, low initial and maintenance costs, easy to drive, manoeuvrable in the most intense urban traffic, and above all ready and able to deliver to the home what had been bought at the shop."

It is not necessary to have a driving licence to drive an Ape. Anybody can drive it. And in the post-war cities where qualified labour was scarce, the Ape helped home-delivery services to get going again. The first to benefit directly from this phase were the small and medium-sized shopkeepers and the three-wheeler motorcycle van was marketed primarily to them. "The Ape helps accelerate the rhythm of commerce and sales. It develops a shop's traffic, so to speak, and creates a highly prized link with the customer.

In the light transport field, the Ape 50 was born to repeat the success the Vespa 50 was enjoying in the two-wheeler field, a recurring strategy in Piaggio history, and was launched in 1964 following a new norm in the Italian Highway Code which required vehicles over 50cc to carry a number plate.

Accommodation in Barga By popular request: the list of hotels in Barga, plus, links to houses and apartments to rent or buy in Barga

Giovanni Pascoli 1855-1912 I Canti di Castelvecchio - complete text (In Italiano)

Osteria Angelio peek in at the people eating in the osteria . What does a plate of farro look like ? The Osteria Web Cam reveals all. ( in English, Italiano)

Low Resolution Poetry
Tiziana Fontana is the only artist in Barga using this almost invisble form of poetry ( In Italiano )

2001 winner: SURPRISE "OUTSIDER" WINS