Vintage Auto Show, Vicenza, Italy

Vicenza Vintage Auto Show

Traveling Boy Bloggers on the Move:
Vicenza Walks – In Chrome Veritas
Story, photos and video by Tom Weber

vintage car at the Vicenza vintage car and fashion show

ecently, my adopted hometown, Vicenza, put its best foot forward, and tires, too.

chrome-plated door handle of vintage car

In the iconic Piazza dei Signori, high fashion from the runways of Florence, Milan and Rome met head on with steel and chrome from the factories of Torino, England and Detroit, merged on the cobblestone of the Centro Storico (Old Town Center), and formed a bond of amazing design and style from a bygone era – the 20s and 30s of Bella Italia.

poster for Vicenza's April 2013 Auto and Fashion show
Official poster for the 2013 Auto & Fashion Show | ©2013 City of Vicenza

This vintage auto and alta moda (high fashion) show was billed as: C'era una volta: Sfilata di Eleganza (Once upon a Time: A Parade of Elegance).

bread and wine

To most outsiders, food, and all the joy that it brings to the table, is the single most import ingredient of Italian culture; but, no doubt, close behind la cucina Italiana is design and fashion, and, of course, art and architecture, to best visualize life inside the Bel Paese. The Roman Empire may have gone out of fashion centuries ago, but the "little peninsula that could" continues to leave its "made in Italy" mark far beyond its borders.

Torre Bissara rises above Piazza dei Signori - Vicenza

It stands to reason that Vicenza would be bold enough to host a design and fashion show; after all, it is the city that was brought to life by Renaissance master builder Andrea Palladio, the father of harmonious spatial design known as Palladianism.

row of vintage cars in front of the Basilica Palladina, Vicenza Auto and Fashion show

Fronting the porticos of the 16th century Basilica Palladina, about 25 vintage cars from the 1920s and 30s – buffed and polished to the nines – were parked in museum-like fashion for the public to gaze at, admire and dream of the past.

top view of row of vintage cars, Vicenza's April 2013 Auto and Fashion Show

This VIP parking lot included grand rides from the top auto salons of the period: Rolls Royce, Singer, Packard, Bugatti, Lancia, MG, Vauxhall and Jaguar; but my favorite was a midnight blue '39 Fiat 1500 6C Superleggera Touring Sport Coupe and the reflections it framed of the piazza's masterpiece buildings in its sterling finish.

close-up view of a 1939 Fiat 1500 6C Superleggera Touring Sport Coupe

Enjoy the video of a bygone era on four wheels; car designs that clearly left an indelible mark on Italian life and culture.

Name:	Required
E-mail:	Required
City:	Required
Feedback:

Let Tom know what you think about his traveling adventure.

* * * * *

Feedback for Destination Bosnia: Inside Sarajevo's Tunnel of Hope

Spent time in Sarajevo in the fall of 1973…beer was excellent!

--- David

* * * *

Hi Tom,

I must say, you're photographs are always amazing. They are top notch. You bring so much class to Traveling Boy. It's photographs like yours that make me want to go out and do my own traveling. Please don't get tired of sending us your amazing adventures. It's such a delight for the soul.

--- Raoul, Whittier, CA

* * * *

Hi Tom:

I'm also an American living in Italy. I've read with interest your blog and articles. I'd like to speak with you regarding residency and citizenship for Americans in Italy as you do seem to have a great deal of knowledge on all of these subjects. Would it be possible to give you a call on the phone? If so, please let me know how to reach you. If not, I can ask my questions via email.

Thank you!

--- David

* * * *

Hey Tom – Wow! Love those photos – they are so super that they make me A) Want to start eating NOW. B) Go there myself. C) See all that pristine beauty that looks so restful and peaceful. Great story, superb pix!!! Bravo!!

--- John, Los Angeles, CA

* * * *

Feedback for Destination Southwestern France: Saint-Émilion

Good job, Tom, and timely info. St. Émilion is in the list of places Jim Hayes and I will visit in September 2014. If we get the chance, we will exploit your experience to enhance the trip!

--- Bobby Harper, Dameron, MD

* * * *

Feedback for Vicenza Walks – Monte Berico

I lived in Vicenza for 4 years in the U.S. ARMY from 1963 to 1967. A wonderful place to explore. Palladio’s works are amazing. Have been back twice since and find new places to visit. My favorite is MONTE BERICO where I have some wonderful photos of my family.

--- Dr. Albert Pizzi, Hanover, MA

* * * *

I liked the new TB particularly the Vicenza article that took me back as a youth when we lived in Naples and travelled up there for a baseball tourney (U.S. Military Bases dependent schools played each other.)

Took me back to the plaza.

--- Bill

Feedback for A Canterbury Trail (Sutri)

Very interesting note. I have wedroned which route the early pre-Christian and Christian pilgrims travelled to Rome from England. Is it still possible to travel the Francigena trail?

--- Pawel

You can find out more info on walking tours of Via Francigena at this site: http://www.compagniadeicammini.it/en/. Thanks for stopping by and commenting..

Tom

* * * *

Good article, enjoyed reading it. Saved your recommended sights for future use.

--- Dardenne Prairie, MO

* * * *

You're going to be great at this Tom. Congrats.

--- Donna Vissa -Montreal

John Clayton's travel blog/review
Two "MUST SEE" Truly Spectacular Places in Europe. Here's Why.

The Han Grotto and Culzean Castle. As the name of my Traveling Boy feature is "Travel With a Difference," it's important to me to always bring you offbeat and unusual tourist places around the world you may not know about. These two fit that category to a T, and they're absolutely worth a visit. One's in Scotland and one's in Belgium. Culzean (pronounced CULLANE) Castle is located near Maybole, Carrick, on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland.

Ringo Boitano's travel blog/review
Highway 49 Revisited: Exploring California's Gold Country

aurora borealis lights up the night sky near Fairbanks

In the 1840s, the population of California was only 14,000, but by 1850 more than 100,000 settlers and adventurers had arrived from all over the world – and they came for one reason: gold. James Marshall had discovered the first gold nugget at Sutter’s Mill in El Dorado County, creating the largest gold rush in history.

Eric Anderson's travel blog/review
Lake Charles’ Family-Size Low-Key Mardi Gras

The Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras in Lake Charles, the second largest in Louisiana, does not need parents there to avert their children’s eyes. This is family entertainment and children are very much part of it. The main office of the Lake Charles CVB has costumes from last year’s Mardi Gras but it also has figures to fascinate little ones from country boys fishing for their dinner to alligators who have already fed and are rubbing their stomachs.

Fyllis Hockman's travel blog/review
Puerto Vallarta: Magic and Mayhem on the Malecon

So I heard that you could spend from dawn to dusk on the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and never get bored and I thought, "Okay, I'm up for that challenge." Well, maybe not the dawn part – I'm not a morning person – so I had no problem leaving those early hours to the joggers and those seeking an early start to catch their red snapper for dinner.

Greg Aragon's travel blog/review
Relaxing at The Inn at Laguna Beach

There is nothing like sleeping in an ocean-front room and awakening to the sounds of waves crashing against the sand. It is one of the finer things in life. And it is exactly what I experienced recently on a memorable getaway to The Inn at Laguna Beach. The adventure began when a friend I pulled off the 5 Freeway in Orange County and took SR 133 south nine miles through winding lush hills and wilderness areas to the ocean.

Bev Cohn's travel blog
Tim Robbins On His Road To Stardom

Award-winning Tim Robbins began his career on episodic television. Robbins' film work, however, is what catapulted him into becoming a major movie star including "Bull Durham" and "Mystic River" for which he won multiple awards. Equally at home behind the camera, he directed the riveting "Dead Man Walking." He is Founder and Artistic Director of The Actors' Gang, which he formed thirty-five years ago and has directed multiple provocative productions.