The inaugural La Dolce Vita held at the Black Horse Country Club in Seaside during Monterey Week had a great turnout despite having to compete against two well established heavyweights, the gathering at the Quail and Concorso Italiano held on the same day. That said, the event laid a solid foundation and should only get stronger from here.

Although the name, La Dolce Vita Italian for the sweet life, might indicate an all Italian event the organizers did a great job in gather a very eclectic mix of automobile. Yes there were the usually suspects, Ferraris, Alfas and Lamborghinis, but there were also Citroens, a Morgan, a fantastic collection of both Lancias and Maseratis.

(Traction Avants)

(Jerry Hathaway of SM World custom SM tow car and world's fastest SM)

The cars which were arranged spaciously along the fairway  provided plenty of room for the spectators to browse and to meet the cars and their owners up close. Unlike other events where it is often difficult to inquire about a particular car, the owners here seem like real car people and were very willing to engage the audience in "car talk".

The Alfa display included a rare Montreal juxtaposed with the new Alfa 8C.

Two standout display were the Lancia and Maserati. The Lancia display feature a very rare Aurelia Spyder next to the almost as rare Convertible. Further completing the display were an Appia Zagato and four Lambdas including one which successfully completed the 100th anniversary Peking-Paris rally in 2007.

(Lancia Aurelia Convertibele and Spyder)

(Lancia Appia Zagato and Fulvia)

The Maserati display had a full representation of most the marque's best known cars including a one-off 5000GT and a recently discovered 3500GT. This 3500GT although operational was completely devoid of paint and trim and will need a complete restoration. Another option is to keep it in its present condition since we are sure that it will always will the preservation prize at any concours.

(One-off Maserati 5000GT)

(Barn find Maserati 3500GT)

(Concours ready and Copperstate Rally participant 3500GT)

The organizers of La Dolce Vita might be on to something given the wide selection of cars that they were able to gather for this first time event. Perhaps rather that trying to compete head to head with the other more established Italian focused events, the organizers should adopted a big tent philosophy and include as many marques as possible since the sweet life can equally apply to all cars and not just those ending in a vowel.