© Oleg Superoleg via Unsplash
Antonio Smiglio, a 58-year-old Italian, was reunited—to his great surprise—with his scooter, which was stolen... in 1984, 42 years ago.
The scooter was stolen when the man was 16 years old. The Garelli Vip 50 has now been recovered after 42 years in Volpiano, in the Italian province of Turin.
An Italian Carabinieri noticed a man riding a scooter without a license plate, something that has been mandatory in Italy since 2006. Upon inspection, the 64-year-old man was unable to explain why he was riding a scooter that had been reported stolen since 1984. The man also turned out to have previous convictions for property crimes.
The scooter was stolen in 1984. Using the frame number, they tracked down the scooter's owner: Antonio Smiglio, who had lived in Liguria as a teenager. For him, the Garelli was not just a means of transportation, but a symbol of his first taste of freedom and independence—one he had purchased with his own money and his mother’s help.
The loss of the scooter in 1984 had deeply affected him. “I remember crying for days; I was desperate,” he told Italian media. Being reunited with his old scooter moved him to tears once again: “I had to cry because I was transported back in time and relived those feelings, seeing faces I had forgotten. My whole life flashed before my eyes.”
The scooter is still in good condition and is currently being refurbished by its owner, who may put it back into use.
Illustration: © Oleg Superoleg via Unsplash