The years in which the Fiat 500 was in production (1957-1975) were some of the most important in the 20th century. Apart from major events and history with a capital ‘H’, the overall evolution in living conditions and lifestyles was constant. Numerous objects that we now use regularly and which appear absolutely banal, such as felt-tip pens or colour photocopiers, even colour television, or the now almost obsolete VHS video tapes or music cassettes, soft contact lenses, resin teeth and safety attachments for skis, were invented, developed or produced in the 18 years in which the various series and versions of the 500 were eating up the miles on roads in Italy and elsewhere.

The 500 debuted in 1957, when the first episodes of the Carosello programme were broadcast on Italian television, and was retired in 1975, when the first pioneering VHS video recordings were appearing. In its 18 years of life, it survived a whole epoch. For example, when it was presented, the USSR launched the Sputnik into space carrying a small dog, Laika, the first living being to orbit the Earth. It was the age of the conquest of space, but then, the 500 helped to conquer mobility in Italy. And talking of Italy, we have to mention sport: in 1957, AC Milan won the soccer Championship, and Gastone Nencini of Tuscany won the Giro d’Italia. Jacques Anquetil won his first Tour de France and Juan Manuel Fangio the last of his five F1 world titles with Maserati. The Mille Miglia had been cancelled because of the terrible accident in Guidizzolo (ten dead, including the driver De Portago).

Italian television in 1957 did not only broadcast Carosello, but also ‘Il Musichiere’ with Mario Riva and ‘Lascia o Raddoppia’ presented by Mike Bongiorno. At the cinema, the big films were the Swedish ‘Wild strawberries’ with Ingrid Thulin and ‘A King in New York’ with Charlie Chaplin. West Side Story debuted on stage in the USA, with music by Leonard Bernstein, and Italian bookstores offered Pasternak’s ‘Doctor Zhivago’, ‘Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana’ by Carlo Emilio Gadda, ‘Il Barone rampante’ by Italo Calvino and ‘L’isola di Arturo’ by Elsa Morante. 1957 was also an eventful year politically. In Rome, Italy, France, the German Federal Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed the treaties that founded the European Economic Community, which was to produce the European Common Market in 1958.

1958, the year of the 500 Sport, was certainly no less intense than the previous year. Vladimir Nabokov published his novel ‘Lolita’ in the United States, which caused a scandal and created a new word. In Italy, ‘Il Gattopardo’ by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa was published posthumously, and in London, Graham Greene brought out ‘Our Man in Havana’. And the boom of the American beat generation continued. There were news items that went almost unnoticed although they were extremely important. For example, Swedish doctor Ake Senning invented the cardiac stimulator or pacemaker. The first high-speed dentists’ drills made a little more noise, but were less painful. The American Ampex company announced the arrival of a video colour recorder. And ‘ampex’ also joined our vocabulary, at least in the world of television media.

The race to nuclear propulsion picked up speed, literally. The USA and USSR launched ‘atomic’ transport and icebreaker ships, and the US Navy submarine the Nautilus passed under the polar icecap. A young ballerina, Carla Fracci, became an étoile at La Scala in Milan, and Giancarlo Menotti founded the Festival of the Two Worlds in Spoleto. In sport, Brazil won the World Cup in Sweden, Juventus won the Italian soccer championship, Ercole Baldini won the Giro d’Italia and a climber, Charly Gaul from Luxembourg, won the Tour de France. Pope Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli, died in 1958 and Angelo Roncalli was elected Pope John XXIII, Khrushchev became Soviet Premier and Communist Party Chairman, and General De Gaulle was elected President of the 5th French Republic. In Algeria, generals Salan and Massu attempted a coup to try to prevent the process of independence in the North African country.

In 1959 Fulgencio Batista fled from Cuba and Fidel Castro came to power, Cyprus declared independence and a revolt in Tibet was put down by Chinese troops as the Dalai Lama found refuge in India. Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states of the USA. Great books like ‘La suora giovane’ by Giovanni Arpino, ‘Una vita violenta’ by Pier Paolo Pasolini, and ‘The Tin Drum’ by German Günter Grass reached the bookstores, the Astérix comics debuted in France, and cinema audiences watched ‘Hiroshima mon amour’ by Alain Resnais and ‘Some like it hot’ with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon, directed by Billy Wilder. In sport, Gaul won the Giro d’Italia, the Spanish rider Bahamontes won the Tour de France and Milan won the Italian scudetto, which was reclaimed by the Juventus of Boniperti, Charles and Sivori in 1960 and 1961.

The 500 D and the Giardiniera were launched in 1960, the year of the Rome Olympics. The sports year ended with the death of Fausto Coppi. John Kennedy won the US presidential elections and a crisis immediately started with the USSR when the U2 spy plane was shot down. Economic relations with Cuba were interrupted, and in South Vietnam, the Vietcong guerrilla forces attacked the Diem government and the Americans who supported it. 1960 was also the year of the first performances by the Beatles in Liverpool, and the birth of the Hippy movement in American universities. Pop art spread through the world, and new books included ‘La ragazza di Bube’ by Carlo Cassola, and ‘Il Vizio assurdo’, a biography of Cesare Pavese by Davide Layolo. ‘Rocco e i suoi fratelli’ directed by Luchino Visconti reached the cinemas.

The general census of 1961 found that there were 50,624,000 Italians. During the year, the first audio cassettes were manufactured. The WWF was founded, and Briton Peter Benenson founded ‘Amnesty International’ in the field of human rights. 1961 went down in history for a number of dramatic events. Construction of the Berlin Wall began during the year, while in Cuba, the anti-Castro Bay of Pigs expedition supported by the CIA was a failure. The USSR announced that it was carrying out nuclear experiments again. In the meantime, France was trying to deal with the OAS terrorists who wanted to maintain colonial domination in Algeria. In the culture field, Leonardo Sciascia published ‘Il giorno della civetta’, and Ernest Hemingway and Italian painter Mario Sironi both died. Pier Paolo Pasolini directed ‘L’accattone’, Francesco Rosi directed ‘Salvatore Giuliano’, and Michelangelo Antonioni ‘La notte’, which starred Monica Vitti.

In 1962, the electricity board in Italy was nationalised, and Enel was created; the first centre-left government came to power (the DC, PSDI and PRI with the external support of the PSI, while the PLI went over to the Opposition). The II Vatican Council opened, France gave up Algeria which became independent. The Cuban crisis exploded and the world was one step from nuclear war and, as if that were not enough, China launched a partial invasion of India. In the meantime a German, Walter Bruch, developed the PAL colour television system, the American satellite Telstar made the first global transmission in colour possible, and the first industrial robots were built in Japan. Where culture is concerned, ‘Il giardino dei Finzi Contini’ by Giorgio Bassani, and ‘Il piatto piange’ by Piero Chiara were published. There was also a book with the unusual title of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by British writer Anthony Burgess, made into a film by Stanley Kubrick. The Russian dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn, succeeded in publishing ‘One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich’ abroad. The Rolling Stones were founded in Britain and ‘Dr. No’, the first film in the Bond series, was released. The stylist and poster designer Marcello Dudovich died, the author of some of the loveliest 20th century Italian posters. And Marilyn Monroe committed suicide in the USA.

Giovanni XXIII, the ‘good Pope’, died and in 1963 Giovan Battista Montini was elected Paul VI. 1963 was a year of mourning, with the Vajont dam disaster (over 2000 dead) and the assassination of Kennedy in Dallas. In Italy, the centre-left Government was reshuffled yet again, and the cultural scene was very lively. ‘Lessico familiare’ by Natalia Ginsburg and ‘La tregua’ by Primo Levi were published, and the Campiello prize was founded in Venice. ‘The life of Galileo’ by Brecht was a success in Milan starring Tino Buazzelli, and Federico Fellini’s ‘Otto e mezzo’ reached the cinema, but the box office hit of the year was certainly ‘Il Gattopardo’. The great Edith Piaf and the Italian painter Felice Casorati died. In the middle of all these events there was one that changed our lives (certainly not the space flight of Soviet Cosmonaut Tereskova or the experimentation with synthetic resin teeth in the USA or the introduction of middle school for everyone in Italy): the first acrylic felt tips were produced. Nikita Khrushchev fell from power in Russia, replaced by Leonid Brezhnev as Communist Party secretary and Alexey Kosygin as Prime Minister. Palmiro Togliatti, secretary of the Italian Communist Party, died in Yalta (USSR).

Early in 1964 France recognised Red China and the USA began to bomb North Vietnam. China exploded its first atom bomb and the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation) was founded in Jerusalem. That year the Milan – Naples stretch of the Autostrada del Sole (755 km) was terminated, the Milan underground railway was inaugurated and ‘A fistful of dollars’ by Sergio Leone, the first archetypal ‘spaghetti’ Western, reached the cinemas. A Czechoslovak technician produced the first soft contact lenses and in Germany, biodegradable detergents became obligatory.
 

Dario Fo published ‘Settimo ruba un po’ meno’, Marcuse published ‘One-dimensional man’, Pasolini directed ‘Il vangelo secondo Matteo’ and, finally, the first works by Bulgarian sculptor Christo Javacheff appeared. The first work was called ‘Table with packaged object’. In 1965 the 500 F made its debut, while the Cultural Revolution was starting in China, Mary Quant was launching the miniskirt in Britain, and the vernacular was replacing Latin in the Catholic liturgy. The mention of these three so different events (combined with the launch of another version of the small Fiat) underlined the many changes that took place in 1965. From the marketing of the first video-recorders right up to the construction of the first electronic music synthesisers and the launch of the first telecommunications satellite. Tragic events for the year included the race riots in Los Angeles, the assassination of Malcolm X, a new war between India and Pakistan, and guerrilla attacks on Israel by the PLO and Al-Fatah. Cinema audiences watched ‘I pugni in tasca’ by Belloccio, while ‘Le cosmicomiche’ by Calvino reached the bookstores. In the sports field, the triumph of a young Felice Gimondi at the Tour de France was a cause for celebration.

In 1966, Indira Gandhi was elected Prime Minister of India, while the Red Guards were created in China to support the Cultural Revolution. It was the year that the Americans bombed Hanoi, and that De Gaulle decided to take France out of NATO. Truman Capote published ‘In cold blood’, Giuseppe Berto ‘La cosa buffa’, Gabriel Garcia Marquez ‘One hundred years of solitude’, and Jorge Amado ‘Dona Flor and her Two Husbands’, while Bulgakov’s ‘The Master and Margarita’ was published posthumously. In the field of ‘small’ things that were anything but small: the French manufacturer Salomon produced and marketed the first safety attachments for downhill skis. The home team won the World Cup in England, and it is the only Rimet Cup ever won by the country that is the home of football. Italy was sent home by North Korea and a goal by an unknown dentist lent to the national team called: Pak Doo Ik.

The 6 Day war between Israel and Egypt, Jordan and Syria, during which the Israeli army occupied the Golan Heights, Sinai, the West Bank and Jerusalem set the Summer of 1967 alight. That same year there was a military coup in Greece, and Ernesto Che Guevara was killed in Bolivia by government troops. 1967 was a difficult year, in which the UN calculated that the world population was about 3 billion 420 million people. Where improvements to the quality of life are concerned, Dolby patented a system to reduce background noise, scintigraphy became an accepted diagnostic method and South African Christian Barnard carried out the first human heart transplant. ‘Hair’ was staged for the first time in a theatre off Broadway, and cinema audiences saw ‘Belle de Jour’ by Luis Buñuel and ‘Blow up’ by Michelangelo Antonioni.

The Fiat 500 L was launched in 1968, like the first colour television patented by Sony, the Trinitron. That year Italy was also involved in the huge project to dismantle and reassemble the Abu Simbel temples, threatened by the construction of the Aswan dam. Eugenio Monti and Franco Nones won gold at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, and the Italian soccer team won the European title. But the year was remembered for the events in France: ‘May ‘68’. With the slogan ‘Power to the Imagination’, student movements all over Europe rose up to try to shake up a society that was out of date. That same year Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated, the violence of the Vietnam war increased, Czechoslovakia was invaded by Russian troops to wipe out the new liberal political environment created by Dubcek. In the USA, Richard Nixon was re-elected President. In Italy, a disastrous earthquake hit the Belice Valley. Beppe Fenoglio published ‘Il partigiano Johnny’, and Kubrik’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ hit the cinemas.

Man’s landing on the moon was the event that symbolises 1969. By itself. It was sufficient to represent a year characterised by Concorde’s first flight, or the Woodstock pop festival in the USA, depending on one’s taste. For cinema lovers, it was the year of ‘Easy Rider’ by Dennis Hopper, ‘Zabriskie Point’ by Michelangelo Antonioni, and ‘The damned’ by Luchino Visconti. The first peace negotiations between USA and North Vietnam were held in Paris during the year, and Ho Chi Mihn died in Hanoi. Yasser Arafat was elected President of the PLO, and in France De Gaulle resigned and was replaced by Georges Pompidou. A military coup in Libya removed King Idris, and colonel Gaddafi seized power.

1970 was a ‘full’ year, starting with the great Italian soccer team that was runner-up at the World Cup Mexico ’70 behind the supreme Brazilians. American bombing raids started again in Vietnam, Nasser died and Khmer Rouge guerrilla warfare began in Cambodia. Divorce was introduced in Italy. The list of ‘positive events’ for the year included the first regular flights of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet and the first cassette video recorders on the market. Eric Segal had a global success with his tear-jerker ‘Love Story’, and the new fashion for ‘body art’ caused dissent in the USA and elsewhere.

Bangladesh was created out of the former East Pakistan. This was one of the events of 1971, the year in which a popular referendum gave women the vote in Switzerland. In Uganda, Idi Amin, the ‘cannibal’, seized power. China obtained a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. The same year, French fashion designer Coco Chanel died. In California, biochemist Chob Hao Li synthesised the growth hormone, and the CAT scan diagnostic procedure was refined. The moon landings continued and the American Apollo 15 astronauts actually drove around on the moon in a special vehicle.

1972 was the year of the last series of the Fiat 500, the R. In the Spring, Luigi Berlinguer was elected secretary of the Italian Communist Party, Richard Nixon made a historic journey to China, and Italian President Giovanni Leone dissolved Parliament in advance for the first time in the history of the Italian Republic. But the most shocking event in 1972 was the murder of the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. And the Watergate scandal broke in the USA. The interesting events of the year included the marketing of the first home pregnancy test, and the sale of the first, extremely expensive, pocket electronic calculators. The ‘Bronzes of Riace’ were rescued from the sea in Calabria, almost on the same day that a madman attacked Michelangelo’s Pietà in St. Peter’s with a hammer. Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini published ‘La donna de la domenica’, and Bernardo Bertolucci’s film ‘Last tango in Parigi’ was sequestered for obscenity. The first film of the ‘Godfather’ saga was screened.

In January 1973, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark joined the European Common Market, and USA and North Vietnam signed an agreement that envisaged the American withdrawal from the country and its unification. Also in the USA, the Senate investigation into Nixon’s role in the Watergate affair began. In Chile, Salvador Allende was killed during a coup, and in Argentina Juan Domingo Peron returned to power, being elected President. The two Germanies joined the United Nations. The Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur war broke out in November, and in Spain pro-Franco Prime Minister Carrero Blanco was assassinated. The OPEC countries approved an increase in oil prices that had serious repercussions for Western economies. One positive event was the definitive abolition of corporal punishment in British schools. New films included ‘Amarcord’ by Federico Fellini, ‘La grande bouffe’ by Marco Ferreri, ‘The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie’ by Buñuel and ‘American Graffiti’. Cinemas, which were already battling against the spread of Italian soft porn, were invaded by films full of Chinese martial arts. And in 1973 the great Pablo Picasso died.

1974 began with the good news that Israel was abandoning the Suez Canal, thus speeding up the peace process with Sadat’s Egypt. In Portugal the Carnation Revolution took place, bringing the Salazar-Caetano era to an end. In Germany, Willy Brandt resigned as Chancellor when one of his collaborators was accused of spying for East Germany. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing was elected President of France, with Jacques Chirac as Prime Minister. In Greece, the military regime collapsed, and Cyprus was divided in two, after the landing of Turkish troops. Nixon faced impeachment following the Watergate affair and he resigned, being replaced by Vice President Gerald Ford. In Italy, while the threat of terrorism from the left and the right increased, a referendum to abolish divorce was defeated. ‘The Gulag Archipelago’ by Solzhenitsyn, and ‘Roots’ by Alex Haley reached the bookstores. Japanese architect Yamasaki began to design the New York World Trade Center.

1975 was the last year of production of the 500 R. To understand how much the world had changed in the 18 years since 1957, we only have to think that in 1975 the VHS format for video cassettes had become common use, the first colour photocopier was being mass produced, and a primitive video-disc was on the market. The American and Soviet spaceships Apollo and Soyuz linked up in space. In Italy the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, another sign of the changing society.