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| Number 203 - English version dated 31.05.2022 - © Axel Gerstl |
Return to Garlenda
Fiat 500 meeting in Florence
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Preliminary Report: Return to Garlenda / Follow-Up Report: Fiat 500 Meeting in Florence Dear customers, dear friends of the Fiat 500, Fiat 126 and Fiat 600, This summer’s motto is definitely „Return to Garlenda“, At last! Three years after the last big international Fiat 500 meeting, the Fiat 500 Club Italia, supported by Axel Gerstl, invites all Fiat 500 enthusiasts again to an in-person event in the setting that we had known until 2019, i.e. at its headquarters in the Ligurian north of Italy. Click here to learn what awaits Fiat 500 friends there and how you can take part with your Fiat 500. On 24 April 2022, the Florence section of the Fiat 500 Club Italia already rang in the classic car season and organised a Fiat 500 meeting in beautiful Tuscany, attended by Amsycora, our representative for Italy. Read here what our brand ambassador experienced in the midst of a hundred Fiat 500s between the arches of Brunelleschi’s dome of the Florence Cathedral and the curvy body of Michelangelo’s David. And of course, we are also proud to present the "Fiat of the month May" along with some interesting current offers and news concerning the Fiat 500, Fiat 126 and Fiat 600. We hope you enjoy reading this month's newsletter! The Axel Gerstl team P.S.: In the meantime, we added two more parts guides written by our friend Davide from Fiat 500 Club Italia in Catania to our website, illustrating the model history of the classic Fiat 500. This time, Davide describes the different carpets and headlamp designs, including the corresponding headlamp settings. 
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| > Preliminary report: 39th Meeting of the Fiat 500 Club Italia from 01 to 03 July 2022 |
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Return to Garlenda In 2020, the event had to be cancelled outright because of Covid-19 and in 2021, the annual meeting of the Fiat 500 Club Italia was held in a different format and mostly online due to the pandemic (we reported on the Fiat 500 World Wide Meeting in our Newsletter 194). But in 2022, the meeting finally takes place again: The Fiat 500 Club Italia, supported by Axel Gerstl, opens its gates for an in-person event and invites all Fiat 500 friends to the 39th edition of the International Fiat 500 Meeting at its headquarters in Garlenda in northern Italy – a must for all Fiat 500 enthusiasts and an attraction for visitors from all parts of the world! The unofficial start of the legendary meeting will take place on Thursday, 30 June 2022 when the first Fiat 500 enthusiasts will meet in Albenga and watch an open-air screening of the movie classic “Back to the Future” in Borgata Ponte to get themselves in the mood for their own return to Garlenda – after a break of almost three years. The weekend of 1 to 3 July 2022 will be dedicated to the reunion of Fiat 500 friends and the return to the “old” normality as we had known it before Covid-19: More than 1,000 Fiat 500 classic cars will populate the grounds of Parco Villafranca, there will be food stands, musical entertainment and various joy rides, including a night excursion under the motto “500 by Night” through Alassio and a trip to the “Le Caravelle” aquatic park in Ceriale. On Friday and Saturday night, a DJ will make everyone dance, cheer and sing along. On Saturday, visitors will have the opportunity to hire a bicycle and take part in a bicycle tour or they can listen to the panel discussion “1972-2022 – Fiat 500 R: my first 50 years” on the big stage, before things get festive in the evening at the great “Return to Garlenda 2022” gala. The highlight of the meeting will take place on Sunday: a big parade through the streets of Albenga (videos of the ride through Albenga at the Fiat 500 World Wide Meeting 2021 can be found here as a small teaser: video 1, video 2, video 3). As usual, all participants will receive a welcome bag with various giveaways upon arrival, including the popular start number plate. Moreover, the Dante Giacosa multimedia museum will be open to visitors between 9am and 6pm, admission is free. Would you like to take part in the legendary Fiat 500 meeting in Garlenda with your Fiat 500? Click here to access the registration form for Fiat 500 Club Italia members (registration fee: EUR 20.00). The registration form for non-members (registration fee: EUR 30.00) can be found here. Registration is open until 28 June 2022. 
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| > Follow-up report: Meeting of the Fiat 500 Club Italia in Florence on 24 April 2022 |
Forrest lovingly polishes his 695 model
The rear window of Cesare’s car with a very special sound insulation; would you guess he’s a sommelier?
Alessandro Vinotti, Vice President of the Fiat 500 Club Italia and main organiser of the 39th Garlenda meeting during his morning car body care
Which road to take? There’s probably always more than one option...
I think this is Ringo’s car
Ringo welcomes the participants who arrive one by one in Piazzale Michelangelo
The “quadrumvirate” of girls at the registration desk
Where does this 500 come from? Easy to tell that it’s from Siena!
All lined up on the Lungarno street
My friend Luciano who took me along in his Fiat 500 all day
One hundred 500s in the hillside behind Fiesole
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Fiat 500 Club Italia meeting in Florence – a report by Amsycora, our representative for Italy 23 April 2022 – Florence, Santa Maria Novella station: I was 18 when I was last here – more than 40 years back in time, but it’s still the same sounds, the same smells, the same bustle. Italia, Toscana, Firenze! I’m glad to be back in this wonderful city after a long train journey that started quite early today in Munich. On behalf of Axel Gerstl, I am going visit the Fiat 500 Club Italia, Florence section. Ringo Ducci, the local representative of the association, had promised to pick me up, what I’m grateful for. The only thing is: Where is he? What does someone called Ringo look like? Beatles hairstyle? No, simply no one here is waiting for someone, apart from the couples who stroll out of the station kissing and holding each other tightly. Ringo is on the phone immediately: “I sent my wife to pick you up.” Well, what does someone married to a guy called Ringo look like? He gives me his wife’s phone number and, in fact, we manage to find each other in the packed station. Soon I’m sitting in a small car, probably a Japanese brand, and we drive off. The Japanese car emits slightly hysterical beeps, but its driver ignores it, and soon, the car gives up beeping. However, driving is not quite the right expression, we rather wobble through the streets of Florence. We arrive at the hotel where I’m accommodated with other Fiat 500 teams, some of whom I’m introduced to right away. Now, I also meet Ringo. A burly man with croppy grey hair, who is always laughing, with a Fiat 500 Club Italia logo inked into the back of his head. He apologises for being in a hurry, still having to cart a lot of things all over the place. No problem, I’ve already being welcomed to the 500 family and will soon be sitting at dinner with Cesare Grignani, member of the Fiat 500 Club Italia administrative board and his wife Silvia. They want to know about my job. When I tell them, they cannot hide a hint of scepticism: “You sell spare parts for the Fiat 500? From Germany?” Next morning, I go straight to the car park where the 500s of the participants are parked. Those who really love their Fiat get up early and rub their Cinquino dry from the nightly rain: Alessandro Vinotti, Vice-President of the Fiat 500 Club Italia and main organiser of the Garlenda meeting, is already there, lovingly polishing a grey Bianchina. Around 10 am, it’s time to line up for the cruise through the city. Luciano, 72 years old, a true Florentine, takes me along. We arrive at Piazzale Michelangelo, a unique panoramic view overlooking Florence. To the left, the dome by Brunelleschi and on the right, “David” by Michelangelo. In between, 100 colourful cars and much hustle and bustle. Registrations are made, bags with giveaways are handed out and numbers are assigned. More and more Fiat 500s are arriving all the time. The girls from the “quadrumvirate” at the beer table, who are responsible for the registration, do a perfect job: Form, name, number, bag. Next please! Since we can only stay here until 12 o’clock, there’s some briefing with the megaphone and off we go. On the way to the restaurant, a photographer will take photos of the passing cars. He instructs us to drive onto the bridge one by one upon his hand signal. We’re crossing the city, driving along the river Arno. People along the streets stop and take photos with their mobile phones. Next, we’re heading for the hills of Tuscany via Fiesole. It’s a narrow and winding road. Quote from Luciano: “This is the first time I’m driving on this road.” Tuscany is beautiful and he loves it, as he proudly emphasises after every turn. If it only weren’t for the fog and rain. The latter increasingly turns into hail, it’s getting uncomfortable, all window panes are fogging up and I try to wipe the windscreen clear with my handkerchief. We finally arrive at the restaurant and take our seats. I’m introduced to Carlo Perino from Fiat 500 Club Italia, Turin section, Fabio Grosso from Fiat 500 Club Italia, Rome section and Agostino Pellegrino from Fiat 500 Club Italia, Milan section. I also meet Stelio Yannoulis, Honorary Chairman of the Fiat 500 Club Italia. The place is absolutely cramped. Ringo and the members of the Fiat 500 Club Italia bring along a barrel from which numbers are drawn. The winners cheer and pick out their prizes from the bags, it’s a funfair atmosphere. While all this is happening, we’re having our meals and at five o’clock in the afternoon, we’re still waiting for dessert. Of course, you can ponder what the point of all this is, and whether it’s ecological or sustainable. The exhilarated atmosphere in the dining room gives the answer to this, and one particular sentence is often heard: “At last, we can come together again!” I think this is what it’s all about: The journey is the reward. By the way, we didn’t drive more than 20 kilometres. And yet another advantage of these meetings: All the money from the raffle will be donated, preferably to organisations caring for sick or elderly people or also to social institutions. In this case, the proceeds of EUR 1,000 were subdivided between “ATT Associazione Tumori Toscana” and “Misericordia di Campi Bisenzio”, an organisation that offers a broad range of relief services to people who have got into difficulties. P.S.: More photos can be found here! 
Claudio Calzolari, winner of the 1st prize, an Axel Gerstl voucher worth EUR 200, with Amsycora
Adriano Simone, winner of the 2nd prize, an Axel Gerstl voucher worth EUR 100, with Amsycora
Simone Cigna, winner of the 3rd prize, an Axel Gerstl voucher worth EUR 50, with Amsycora
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| > Photo Album: Fiat of the Month May |
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Fiat of the Month May If you want to present your Fiat 500, Fiat 126 or Fiat 600 to our readers, please send a photo to service. There’s no special motto, no limitation. And if you’re lucky, your Fiat will become Fiat of the month! To all previous participants: Your photo is still active and can still become Fiat of the Month in the next months. Click here to find the previous“Fiats of the month”. |
| > New items in our online shop* |
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for example Tire 125/12
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| > Offers* |
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for example Maintenance kit
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for example Set of knee protection
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for example Clutch
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| > Please note |
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Subject to change, errors excepted. |
| > Contact |
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Company Axel Gerstl
Telephone: +49 - 8141/53 48 6-0
E-Mail: service |
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