LA SPEZIA 2016
'Circolo della Biella' is the most important motoring Club in Modena, and one of the best in Italy. His origins date from before WWII and has been 'refounded' in 1987, enjoying since then a stellar staturs among classic-car Clubs. Old friend (and one of the 'new Biella' founder members) Annibale Cecconi invited us to join the meeting that they had organized the last week-end of October and the program was too interesting to refuse: the President, famous Maserati collector Matteo Panini, kindly allowed Anna and I to join them
We decided to partecipate with the 409 as it is the best way to travel in company. We are 4 close friends and we need some luggage space; the 409, with its capacious interior space, confortable seats, ample legroom also for rear passengers, its cavernous boot and effortless performance, is perfect for any long journey
Friday 28 October
After a fast, relaxing journey from Bologna, Forte dei Marmi welcomed us with a magnificent sunset
Dinner at Fratellinis, raw fish at its best and a perfect Martini as well
In Forte dei Marmi, when we are not staying at Anna's villa (sometimes it's too complicated in winter to heat it for a night only....), we like to stay at the 'Grand Hotel Imperiale' It's a luxurious hotel with an excellent ambience, a well-frequented underground private parking (see above...) and a tasty breakfast to prepare us for a long Saturday. You can't find a better place to stay in Forte
Saturday 29 October
In the morning we joined the other Members of the 'Biella' at the Arsenale in La Spezia and we visited the 'Museo Tecnico Navale della Spezia'. An extremely interesting Museum
In Italy, also assault motor boats have noble engines; now they use Isotta Fraschinis, in the past they used Alfa Romeo 6C
The enormous 'Centrale di Tiro' of a battleship, one of the last fully analogic marvels of that era (late 1930s). I gather that it comes out of a Littorio-class battleship, though no one was sure if it came from the 'Vittorio Veneto' or the 'Littorio'
This massive piece of engineering was designed and built by Officine Galileo in Firenze. They still are in this business and with very good products in the same area
The sad part of every war is the tragic death of so many people, soldiers first. Submariners, in percentage, were probably the ones who suffered more casualties in the last World War. On the left, the flag of the famous 'Scirč' submarine framed in a part of its hull, recovered from its wreckage in Haifa some years ago; on the right the memorial to the dead submariners
One of the three HUGE propeller of a 'Littorio'-class battleship
We had a very nice lunch at 'Circolo Sottufficiali La Spezia'
After lunch, we were directed inside the Arsenale to the 'Amerigo Vespucci', training ship for the cadets of the Accademia. Circolo della Biella's members showed up with an impressive array of splendid cars and many classic Porsches, which I like a lot
It's easy to understand why it has been named simply 'The Most Beautiful Ship in the World'.....
Being in the 'Arsenale' in La Spezia had a special meaning for me. During the war, my beloved father Renato was enlisted in the 'Regia Marina' and was stationed on the 'Fuciliere' in La Spezia. Fuciliere was with the 'Roma' battleship in that fatal mission during which Roma was sunk by a German airborne, radio-controlled bomb. He was a real patriot, 'right or wrong, it's my country', so he did his duty, but he never spoke willingly of the war
My father knew that a war, any war, is the worst moment of the humanity; he didn't like to have been part of it. I admired him a lot also for this attitude. And I loved him, so I miss him a lot.
I felt that it was my duty to remember him in La Spezia, carrying on the Vespucci his 'Libretto Personale'. I must admit that, for me, that was a very emotional moment
No words
Ancient machinery and controls on the Vespucci
Anna proudly showing the official 'Amerigo Vespucci' picture with Leila, Annibale and me
We drove our cars (slowly) to the part of the Arsenale where the new ships are moored
Well, if visiting the Vespucci was very interesting, being admitted to visit the 'Carlo Bergamini' was a real honour, for which I really have to thank Panini, the Circolo della Biella and Annibale
The sheer size of those modern frigates is impressive. Having no conventional 'big guns' (they carry missiles) those ships have a comparatively modest displacement, and still they are huge, being 144 meters long. Here side by side the 'F590' (right, 'Carlo Bergamini') and 'F593' (left, 'Carabiniere')
The Commander of the 'Bergamini' is Enrico Vignola, a young and energetic young officer that we had the pleasure to have dinner with Saturday night at 'Iseo'. I wish that all the officers in our Armed Forces were as good as him (and I bet that most of them are, anyway)
Having served the Armed Forces as a Carabiniere in my youth, I couldn't resist having my picture taken in front of 'F593'. My dad's 'Fuciliere' in the 1940s was a sister ship of that epoch's 'Carabiniere' (both were 'Soldati'-Class destroyers)
More pictures from outside the 'Bergamini' (Inside the ship, pictures were not allowed for very obvious reasons) The 'Bergamini' received its combat flag in date 16 October 2013, it's therefore an extremely modern ship.
The sun was setting and the La Spezia bay showed its best colors
We reluctantly left La Spezia and its Arsenale around 6,00 pm and drove to that little jewel that is Portovenere. Our room, in the excellent 'Grand Hotel Portovenere', had its balcony over the harbour so it was easy to take pics showing how it is at 7,00 p.m., just after sunset...
...and when the dawn breaks at 6,15 a.m., first looking East....
...then looking again at the harbour and at the little splendid Borgo
Sunday 30 October
It was a glorious morning
The splendid sunshine in the Riviera makes you smile
Annibale and Leila
The underground parking lot of the hotel was excellent. Parking the 409 beside a modern Maserati Ghibli shows how much modern cars are bigger
From this point of view you can see the 'FREMM' flotilla moored at its docks, where we were the afternoon before
We drove back from Portovenere on a short stretch of Autostrada then along the Lungomare in Forte. It was another nice sunny morning, the holiday traffic was no hassle on the 409 with its auto 'box
We had lunch at the Principe, one of our favorites in Forte. Not the best choice this time
On the road again, this time heading the 409 towards Bologna
Starting....
...and coming back
The whole trip was 341 miles. It was an effortless drive, that confirmed my appreciation for the big eight-cylinder Bristol. What's more important, the 409 is very confortable also for the crew: the ladies declared that the back seating of the 409 is vastly superior to the modern cars' for space and comfort. No small compliment, this one
