“If you swallow a bug while sightseeing in Chianti, is it considered Italian cuisine?” I pondered as I felt yet another small insect meet its end on the front of my blouse. No matter: It was impossible to stop grinning — even laughing out loud — as I sped along on my ripe-tomato red Vespa scooter, twisting and curving through the grapevine-studded hills of central Tuscany.

In celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary, my husband and I had splurged on a unique luxury tour called Italy by Vespa. Since the seven-day tour combined several of our own passions — enjoying the history, culture and cuisine of Italy while riding on speedy, state-of-the-art Vespas — we happily signed up and were soon on our way to Florence.

At the airport, we were greeted by our driver, Michele, a charming young man who confided to us that “in their hearts, all Italians believe they are Mario Andretti,” as we raced out of town to Hotel Vignale, located just outside the charming medieval village of Radda, about 30 miles (48 km) from Florence, in the Chianti region of Tuscany.

The elegant Hotel Vignale, a carefully restored manor house of a large wine estate, was our beautiful home base for the action-packed week. Each morning, our group of 15 — which included Vespa enthusiasts from around the United States plus our suave Italian guide, Antonio — enjoyed a hearty breakfast in the hotel, then gathered at our long line of shiny scooters to depart on the day’s adventure.

Manufacturers had never before produced a red Vespa in Italy, so all heads turned for the daily “scootercade.”

We caused quite a stir throughout our stay in Chianti due to the fact that Piaggio (the manufacturer of Vespa scooters) had never before produced a red Vespa in Italy. Our scooters on this tour were a colorful first, and the heads of Italians and tourists alike turned as our daily “scootercade” passed by.

The tour itself requires basic scooter-riding skills, as well as courtesy and concentration, especially on the more winding and highly trafficked roads. Our group quickly developed its own hand and horn codes to indicate that a turn signal was accidentally left blinking or some impatient Italian drivers wanted to pass.

The Vespas themselves — with four-stroke, 125cc engines, electric start and automatic transmission—are capable of about 65 miles per hour (105 km/h), although we typically stayed closer to a 35 to 45 mph (56 to 72 km/h) pace. Helmets, provided on the tour, are required by Italian law.

As we soon discovered, Italy by Vespa offers much more than just a fabulously fun way to traverse the Chianti countryside (although sailing along on our scooters past fields of swaying crimson poppies, silvery-green olive groves and tiny hill towns was alone worth the price of admission).

In fact, thanks to tour owner Stanley Gallery (a longtime lover of scooters and all things Italian) and his worldwide connections, we were privy to several remarkable events arranged especially for these groups.

On our first full riding day, we cruised from Radda to Siena, where a police escort led us in full Vespisti (Vespa riders’) splendor through the streets of the walled city, culminating in a slow and stately procession through the Piazza del Campo, site of the famous bareback horse race known as the Palio di Siena.

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Another memorable journey found us zipping to the world’s only Prada outlet store in Montevarchi, where after a shopping spree that left some of us light on euros, we continued on to the estate of Salvatore Ferragamo.

The renowned Italian shoe designer permitted our group to visit the grounds of his magnificent compound, where we rode in awestruck silence up a seemingly endless drive lined with cypress trees and horses grazing peacefully on either side.

After strolling among the jasmine-swathed buildings that comprise Ferragamo’s conference center and offices, we proceeded to the nearby village of Il Borro. This medieval hamlet has been painstakingly restored by the Ferragamo family and now features small villas for rent and L’Osteria del Borro, a lovely restaurant where we dined alfresco.

In addition, the Ferragamos have invited a variety of traditional Tuscan artisans to live in the village on the hillside, where they practice their crafts and sell their wares. A fascinating diorama called the Presepio, or Nativity, lies hidden away in Il Borro’s sole church and is also not to be missed.