Puglia Differences: an occasional series on things that strike this Brit as so very Italian.
The Ape (pronounced ah-pay) is the go-to vehicle of choice for the small scale farmer or tradesman. The most common ones are made by Piaggio, the company that brought you the Vespa scooter. Fun fact: they are named Ape, the Italian word for bee, we presume because of the buzzing noise they make and Vespa is named after the Italian for wasp for the same reason.
And that basically is what this vehicle is, a Vespa: they added a third wheel, a cabin and a flatbed but, underneath it all, it’s still a scooter. It has handlebars instead of a steering wheel and a 50 cc motor.
Woe betide you if you get stuck behind one up hill as they are not speedy!
They re-engineered a scooter to add a rear axle for the third wheel.
Some have a basic flatbed, some have side rails.
In the old town we get daily rubbish and recycling collections and, because the alleyways are too narrow for a conventional dust cart, they use an Ape instead.
At olive harvest time the local frantolio (oil mill) will have a queue of them lining up to deliver their crop for pressing.
Likewise at grape harvest time you’ll see them arriving at the local wine co-op with their grapes.
I'm not sure if this a special edition or somebody is try to emulate "Pimp My Ride"!
In Locorotondo there is even one all decked in white with ribbons for wedding hire. A versatile vehicle indeed!
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