The 26th meeting was held from 6 to 9 September 2012 in the region of the picturesque medieval village of Lucignano, about 70km southeast of Florence in the beautiful Tuscany region of Italy. 58 Montreals and several other cars participated in the meeting, which was organised by Sestilio Marcheselli, President of Rovigo Historic Wheels Club, and dedicated to the memory of Håkan Bäck, who died 25 days after the end of the meeting in Finland that he had helped to organize. The meeting hotels were the Hotel Apogeo (3-star) in Sinalunga and the Hotel Forum (4-star) in Foiano della Chiana.
A detailed programme for the meeting is available in English, German and Italian. Early arrivals on Thursday were greeted by the Lucignano authorities at 16h, and this was followed by olive oil tasting and a welcome dinner. On Friday morning the participants made an excursion to Magione, where each Montreal could make several laps on the race track. The participants then enjoyed a pleasant drive to Assisi for a fine lunch and sightseeing in this historic town, the birthplace of St Francis. On Saturday morning the group visited Pienza. This is the most famous city of art of the Val d'Orcia to which it belongs, and its historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There followed a visit to the Banfi wine cellar, lunch at Banfi Castle in Montalcino, and a drive through the attractive Crete Senesi area. In the evening a gala dinner was held in the Hotel Forum, during which the Bernhard Schalbetter Memorial Trophy that had been donated by Håkan Bäck was presented to Timo Jaatinen, who travelled about 2700km from Finland. The farewell event on Sunday morning was held in Sestilio Marcheselli's property in Lucignano. A DVD of photos may be purchased from Zack Photo Video. Unfortunately the meeting was marred by three Montreal accidents, but without injury to the drivers or passengers.
Here are some photos from the 2012 Montreal meeting:
