I'm sure you all know our Italian member Luigi, who was very active in Club events while he was living in the UK for a few years. Since returning to Italy he has continued to be an example to us all, regularly recruiting local dandies and vintage enthusiasts to join the NSC. Now he is planning a British Invasion, as it were, for the first weekend in June, and Club members are invited to take part.

The event will centre around DANDYdays Arezzo, on 1st and 2nd June, though Luigi is offering to lead us on some other activities for before and after that weekend. DANDYdays is pretty much what it sounds like: see the timetable below from Luigi. There is a fee of about £65 per person to take part in the festival.

The nearest airport is Perugia (Ryanair flights from Stansted), but you could also come to Ancona (Ryanair from Stansted or EasyJet from Gatwick), Florence or Rome. Luigi has a rustic country house in Foiano della Chiana, 30km from Arezzo, where he is happy to accommodate a limited number of people (about 8 or 10, with some room-sharing, by the sound of it), or there are a couple of B&Bs nearby.

Luigi observes that the Italian dandies tend to be more contemporary and flamboyant in their style of dandyism—compared to the classic style of many NSC types, himself included—but he believes it will be a rich and fruitful cultural encounter.

This information is repeated on a Facebook event, where you can indicate your interest in taking part, but if you don’t do Facebook then drop us an email here.

ITINERARY FOR DANDYDAYS AREZZO

Saturday 1 June
- 10.00 Meeting at the Palazzo della Provincia di Arezzo and meeting of the "historic bikes" group at the Prato di Arezzo (where the bikes will remain on display)
- 11.30am "ribbon cutting" in the presence of the city authorities
- 12.00 start of the Dandies walk in the historic part of the city exploring the antiques market;
- Lunch in the premises of the Municipality of Arezzo (historic rooms where the colors of the Giostra del Saracino are preserved)
- 2.30pm Guided tour of the Center and the Etruscan/Roman Museum
- 4.00pm Return to the “Prato di Arezzo” (for the award ceremony for the most beautiful historic bike)
- 9.00pm Gala Dinner at the “Casa Thievenin” (changing is possible in the late afternoon in a space that will be made available to us for the purpose);

Sunday 2 June
- 10.00 Meeting at the Palace of the Province of Arezzo
- 11.00 Visit to the Gold Museum of Arezzo
- 12.00 Dog show in the Prato di Arezzo
- 2.30pm Guided visit to the Museum of Medieval and Modern Art
- 6.00 pm Meeting at the Atrium of Honor of the Province for the greeting of the authorities, in the company of the AIS (Sommelier Association) and wine tasting.
- To conclude, Final Salute