Timeless Charm – Concorso di Eleganza Città di San Pellegrino Terme
July 15, 2024
The 14th edition of the Concorso di Eleganza Città di San Pellegrino Terme could not have had a more fitting ending than in the courtyard of one of the most iconic and representative buildings of the Art Nouveau style in Italy, the Grand Hotel in San Pellegrino Terme, near Bergamo. Right here, in the shadow of its magnificent façade on the Brembo river, on Sunday the 14th of July, this impressive and highly respected concours d’elegance, organized by the Club Orobico Auto Moto Epoca of Pedrengo (which is included in the prestigious ASI Circuito Tricolore by Automotoclub Storico Italiano and of which Car & Classic is a sponsor), came to a stunning close with a notable awards ceremony.
The San Pellegrino competition is unique in the sector for the fact that it combines cars and motorbikes. Add to this the wonderful setting of the Bergamo area, the Orobie Prealps, the Taleggio and Imagna valleys and Brembana and you have a winner. The perfect style of the ASI circuit, which is divided into 18 events across the peninsula from spring to October, aims to raise awareness of the beauty of Italy and its food and wine via the medium of historic vehicles and boy did the Concorso di Eleganza Città di San Pellegrino Terme deliver. Big time.
The Grand Hotel in San Pellegrino Terme – built between 1902 and 1904 and inaugurated by Queen Margherita in 1905 – is almost as legendary as the waters that flow past it, lending its name to one of the most famous thirst quenchers on the market. Then there’s the legendary casino, too: two elements that made it one of the most exclusive spa tourism destinations in Europe in the last century.
The Concorso di Eleganza Città di San Pellegrino Terme came to life on Friday the 12th with the motorbikes, which were not phased by the hail storm that hit the area a few hours after the start, and left San Pellegrino in the direction of Val Taleggio, Valle Imagna, arriving in the charming town of Selvino for dinner and an overnight stay. The participating two-wheelers represented many different manufacturers; from the many Italian entrants such as Frera, Bianchi, Moto Guzzi, Della Ferrera, Benelli, to the foreign bikes such as Peugeot, Triumph, Harley Davidson, Sarolea, Hubert, LSN, BSA, Ner-A-Car, Phanter, Miller, Ariel, Indian, René Gillet, Matchless and BMW. It was truly a wonderful mix and a magnificent sight to behold.
On Saturday the 13th of July, it was the turn of our four-wheeled friends as 45 superb cars lined up on the lawn of the eighteenth-century Italian Villa Gromo, in Mapello, which also hosted the gala dinner. This year, the event featured four cars that were over a century old: a 1901 De Dion Bouton G 4½ HP, a 1902 Aster Cabriolet, a 1909 Hupmobile Twenty and a 1912 Maxwell Special. Seven MGs built between 1930 and 1964, on the occasion of the Centenary of the English brand were also in attendance, and as many as six Mercedes-Benz 300 SLs, four legendary Gull Wings and two stupendous Roadsters: built between 1954 and 1961, all proudly celebrated 70 splendid years of the model.
This rolling museum was completed by six other pre-war models of Italian and foreign production as well as 20 fascinating post-war models of Lancia, Fiat, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Mercedes, Jaguar, Porsche and other rarities.
On Sunday the 14th the cars were exhibited in the courtyard of the Grand Hotel of San Pellegrino but the event remains totally free and open to the public who were also able to follow the parade and the awards ceremony of the Concorso di Eleganza, passing their own judgment on aspects such as the state of originality, conservation and restoration, the history and the sporting honours, among others. A jury made up of experts in the sector and connoisseurs of the history of motoring were on hand to officially award the various prizes, too.
Among the numerous accolades was our coveted Car & Classic prize, this time going to a truly exceptional piece, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing by Alberto Cefis, known as “the Cuban” because it participated in the Grand Prix several times in Cuba in the 1950s and was exported from Cuba over the course of twenty years in pieces. While Best in Show went to a British car, Diego Ribadeneira’s 1930 Bentley Speed Six.
The Tricolore Circuit will return from the 23rd to the 25th of August with an event on two wheels – the Circuito del Chienti e Potenza in the Marche hinterland, between Tolentino and San Severino Marche, and will continue south of the capital, in the Frosinone area, with the Giro della Liri Valley from the 27th to the 29th of September.
