It’s maybe going to be tight to get into Italy without having self isolate……
The Mayor of Mandello just gave a statement to the press that the final decision about the ‘Motoraduno’ will be made next Wednesday morning (4th August) - but it isn’t looking good!
Here is the link:
and this is my translation:
Mandello, Black Cloud over Motorcycle Rally
The Guzzi Centenary could be celebrated in 2022
In yesterday’s meeting in the Prefecture, difficulties emerged in organizing the event. Too many crowding risks, only exhibitions and online meetings. Official decision Wednesday
The Guzzi motorcycle rally risks being canceled and postponed to September 2022. The news is not yet official, but after yesterday morning’s meeting in the prefecture between the mayor Riccardo Fasoli and the prefect Castrese De Rosa, the choice could be made to postpone the great event for the hundredth anniversary of the Guzzi Factory.
Too many critical issues remain: “There are too many critical issues related to an event of such great importance. Next Wednesday I will meet again with the prefect De Rosa and we will make the final assessments”, says mayor Riccardo Fasoli. “There is the possibility of postponing everything to 2022, trusting that by then normality has really returned. I repeat that at the moment it is a hypothesis. We will make the decision next Wednesday, at the moment the only certainty is that we will not be able to organize a big event as we would have liked. In the next few days we will do all the evaluations with the motorcycle rally committee”.
The idea of entry with the Green pass (Vaccination Certificate) was also discarded. “It would be impossible, we cannot close the town and put ourselves at the entrances to check the Green pass of all the participants”, remarks the mayor.
(translated from ‘La Provincia di Lecco’, Thursday 29 July)
Just cancelled my accommodation in Varenna 
Disapointed to say the least, I’ve had my hotel booked in Colico since last October, but I’ve managed to get refunds on my two hotels in France along with my Colico booking, All thanks to Hotels.com, Ferry company won’t give a refund(good old DFDS), so we are changing the Negative cables to a Positve and using the Ferry ticket to take a trip down to Royan in France, spending a couple of days on the way down in Abbeville(Somme) to take a look at the WW1/WW2 cemetries (that should put life into prospective). To all the fellow Guzzi riders out there who are equally disapointed, 2022 will soon roll round
Beware of the restrictions that you will find in France.
You need a “Covid Passport” (“Pass Sanitaire”) to enter restaurants (even Fastfood), bars, museums, etc.
What is that? Basically a QR code that gets scanned upon entry. It can contain either “double vaccinated” status, Negative Test, or recently recovered from Covid. The French accept the UK certificates but it must be a QR code (because it gets scanned upon entry to facilities!!!)
This is from an Ex-pat site in France at the middle of August 2021: https://anglophone-direct.com/pass-sanitaire-who-what-where-when-how/
Have fun,
Cheers Uki
OK. It is Sunday evening, and the Motoraduno 2021 has come and gone.
Yes, the GMG was officially cancelled.
Yes, that was the right thing to do - considering the overall health concerns numbers had to be kept within limits.
Yes, a health protection / social distancing protocol was followed, and the Covid health pass was necessary.
No Marquees with Rock Concerts, and no full Factory Open Day.
BUT: This was the REAL 100th, and nothing before or after will be able to match it.
And it was still run as a very special Motoraduno.
It was still a bustling event, with plenty of Guzzis from all over Europe. Virtually every Nation was here, from ‘M’ for Malta to ‘CZ’ for the Czech Republic, and from ‘S’ for Sweden to ‘E’ for Spain. The genuine feel of the GMG was there, and the presentation of the new V100 Mandello at the end of the Museum tour was the absolute highlight of the event.
I am extremely glad that we stuck to our guns and came here despite everything that’s been going on - I wouldn’t want to have missed it! I am also feeling reasonably safe with regards to the Virus, due to the requirements for a ‘Green Pass’ (Pass Sanitaire, Covid Certificate…). This Pass has re-opened borders in (Continental) Europe since July, and has made this whole trip and event possible at all.
I feel accordingly sorry for all of you who have been prevented from participating in this experience for political reasons - you have surely missed an exceptional event, and you have surely been missed here in Mandello!
The new ‘V100 Mandello’ alone was worth the trip. It is a stunning new bike, and none of the photos really do it justice. (Mine neither!)
It was on display in the exitof the wind tunnel. There is another bike in the front (testing position), that was white-ish / silver-ish, and possibly a Norge (I couldn’t see it very well).
The Museum has also been re-vamped. No more bikes with rust, or with flat tyres. A renovated interior. More bikes, especially the later models (V7’s, 1400 Audace etc.)
Sorry - Photos don’t upload (despite being under 2 MB, and showing ‘green’ when uploading…)