Fiat  Cinquecento - Symbol of the Italian Dream

The age of making Italy proud again... in a simple and humble way. Not the way of Mussolini, but united, in the way of a family building for the post-war future.

Together. Stronger.

Italians look back nostalgically on this innocent idyll. To all Italians the Fiat 500 (and maybe the vespa) are the ultimate symbols of this past filled with the promise of a better world. A world of possibilities. Of adventures, once unimaginable, coming true.

That age may be gone, but I still dream of driving the length of Italy in an old Fiat 500, the windows rolled down and a summer breeze in my hair.  Every time I see an original Fiat 500, the dream of a simpler and better world seems to live again in my heart.

I still feel hopeful.

In my mind's eye, I see those fields of Tuscan sunflowers dancing in the breeze and the laughter of a family in the 1960s, enjoying a summer's afternoon on an Italian beach. It is then that I realize that the world of yesteryear has not gone forever. That world was created by people. This world is, too.

Therefore, it is up to us. We can all do better than we are currently doing. We can still find simplicity and each other... even in a complicated world like the one we live in now. This is not just the case in Italy; it is the case everywhere. I want to awaken with a feeling of excitement, eager to jump out of bed and throw open the shutters to a world of sunshine and days of endless possibilities and excitement. It is up to us.

This car is, for me, a symbol of all that is good in the world. A symbol of a past that is not lost entirely. Let's not bring back the car (the flashy modern versions are nothing like the original Fiat 500 in spirit), but rather the dream of innocence and hope.