That time Marcello got caught by the fuzz in Sardinia

This is probably my favourite photo from my journey through the sunny parts of Italy with Marcello, my bright orange Rally 200.

It was taken on the outskirts of Meano Sardo, a small village 14 kilometres south of Sorgono in central Sardinia.

The local carabinieri had set up a roadblock on the edge of town and they busted me for not wearing a helmet.

In my defence, the sun was out, I was in the middle of nowhere and I was convinced that the straw hat I’d bought myself up in Alghero gave me a certain rakish charm.

If it did, it didn’t work on the carabinieri.

There was talk of questura (police headquarters), multa (fine) and confiscato (confiscated). But when they spotted my passport and saw that I was ‘Australiano’ the mood changed. 

The big guy had an uncle in Griffith and decided to let me off with a warning.

Before I rode off I cheekily asked to take this photo of them beside my Vespa.

It was the big guy’s idea to point at the helmet as a sort of public health warning. 

The smile kind of undermines the message.

But you know, Marcello has that kind of effect on people.