by Alessandro Dragone
Tired but happy after a day full of emotions, voices, colors, sounds and lots of joy. Three Coordinations of the Fiat 500 Club Italia (Ferrara, Bologna and Ravenna) together for a gathering simple in form, but rich in substance,
which welcomed 127 people in the best possible way, more than 70 Fiat 500s which formed a festive snake during the various transfers.
After the meeting in the beautiful square of portomaggiore where we did the registrations, distributed the Club gadgets and some typical local products, took the usual photos and received recognition from the local authorities, we headed to the refreshment point, where the aperitif was served, a rich buffet enjoyed by all the participants. It was nice to meet so many friends (and relatives) who, despite not being Cinquecento enthusiasts, wanted to be present, to greet us and wish us a good success of the event: personally I was really pleased. Also noteworthy is the presence of some crews arrived from far away: a couple plus a beautiful cocker spaniel from the province of Genoa, two members from Lodi and a married couple from Lugano, who arrived with a black L and a Giardiniera+trolley of the same color. Also present was the honorary president Stelio Yannoulis, the regional contact Federica Gabba, the trustees of Ravenna Francis Becca, from Bologna Claudio Calzolari and the Po Delta Nico Marangon.
The Staff of the “newly formed” Ferrara Coordination moved with agility and precision, everything was carefully planned in recent months during our weekly meetings, Andrea left nothing to chance.
The caravan then set off again, roaring and noisy, along the roads of the Ferrara countryside to reach the destination that gives its title to this gathering of ours, the Estense Delight of Verginese. A very knowledgeable guide told us the history of this residence, commissioned by Alfonso D'Este for Laura Dianti towards the end of the 1500s, and accompanied the participants on an interesting guided tour.
At the end, we all drove to the restaurant, which “delighted” us with meat and fish dishes.
As I wrote at the beginning, tired but gratified by the many compliments received, we greeted and thanked everyone, promising to meet again soon.
* * *
Beautiful day of fun, accompanied by an almost summer temperature. I am very happy that as a first experience there was such a high number of registrations and that we managed to meet the expectations of the participants both on a cultural level because the castle is truly beautiful, and gastronomically, as the food and service were top notch. What can I say.... thanks to the guys on the Staff who supported us yesterday and in the months preceding the organization, thanks to Common of Portomaggiore for having made the square available to us, thanks to the Municipal police who asked us several times if we needed help with the procession out of town…
We were very busy getting to know the participants, whom I hope to see again at the next gatherings. Greetings to Anna and Stefano, the couple from Switzerland who joined the caravan that started from Bologna and went to Portomaggiore to then continue their journey towards Tuscany.
In the Club bag that we distributed to the participants, in addition to the classic gadgets, there were two very good couples, the typical Ferrarese bread, and… two cookies details!!!
Andrea Masters
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