The website of the parent company, Piaggio, also says that it does not go unnoticed. And this, we quote, “thanks to the intrinsic characteristics that make it a unique product in the world and to the unparalleled friendliness combined with the ability to attract attention immediately and in any context”. As well as the Ape Cross that has been driving for over 30 years is also Letizia Pagliarino: a literature professor with unparalleled sympathy.
In the Ape as if it were a Lamborghini
It was therefore destiny that she and her beloved flaming blue Ape would meet, establishing a lasting partnership over time: «And this is already the second one I’ve purchased and I’m very happy». At 1pm sharp, the kids from Sarpi high school happily swarm towards the exit. Between those who get on the motorbike (and there are plenty of Vespas buzzing) and those who aim for the bus connection, there is a “tertium datur”. Given, in fact, by Professor Pagliarino who, nonchalantly, opens the door of her Ape with the same pride as a Lamborghini.
«For me the car is not a status symbol»
«Many display the car as a status symbol, but for me this is not the case. I chose to adapt the vehicle to the need.” If the professional status is that of an esteemed teacher, with a tenure of over thirty years at the city classical high school, the need is to brilliantly resolve a series of problems that all Sarpi teachers must, obtor collo, face, which can be summarized in a single, big puzzle: Where to park your car when you are on duty? An assumption from which another question arises: how can we do it without fainting?
The cost of parking Fara
The issue for the teaching staff of the high school, but also for its Ata staff, is serious, especially since with the entry into operation of the Fara car park the blue stripes of the Walls, on which many teachers park, will turn into yellow, prerogative of residents. Translated: unavailability of parking spaces, heavy fines, while teachers consider the Fara parking fee to be equally high, with 3 euros and 30 cents an hour and 165 euros in the case of a monthly subscription.
The staff who escape from Città Alta
A cost considered unsustainable in a context of problematic accessibility to school. And the management made this clear with a series of (apparently unsuccessful) municipal discussions, aimed at finding a solution (a controlled tariff, for example, or dedicated parking spaces). Even more so, problem upon problem, too There is a turnover among the Ata staff that Gasperini is missing at Atalanta. The reason? Always the same, uncomfortably uncomfortable location.
The janitor also bought the Apecar
So purchasing an Apecar is a way to bypass the pitfalls: it is similar to a motorbike, it can travel anywhere and park in the designated spaces outside the school without a fee. The cabin cruiser guarantees shelter from the cold and bad weather. This is how the janitor Pietro resists, having purchased a yellow and black Ape, following the example of Prof Pagliarino. «I wanted to demonstrate that there is another way to move through traffic and I found it» he says, adding the detail of a journey from Monterosso to Città Alta undertaken in various ways. On foot (but there have also been cases of teachers getting injured between one run and another) and then by car. Then the Ape solved everything. «At the beginning many, even the boys themselves, smiled in amazement, looked at me with an air of condescension. Then, as time passed, they understood.”
«The lady with the SUV wants it too»
The teacher is very happy: «The tourists who see me shoot videos, the children smile at me and this gives me immense joy. If I can even make someone smile, I have already achieved a great goal.” In short, she taught: «Once, a lady, very bejeweled, driving an SUV, stopped to ask me where it was possible to buy the Ape. She wanted it too. A priceless satisfaction.”
The camera trap
Speaking of payments. «Often the surveillance circuit in via Arena does not recognize the transit of the vehicle, which is equated to a motorcycle, and so several fines have been issued for driving bans.” The teacher, however, does not make a plea: «In self-protection I asked for the annulment. But, excuse me now, but I have to go. I greet you and with you I also greet all the bee keepers of Italy.”
