Travel: In the land of the Pitti Peacocks

To see human males exhibiting the splendour and extravagance of male birds, head to Florence’s annual menswear event

“Sei uno dei pavoni?” The gentleman who’d come to deliver the car to the estate asked, more in the tone of a statement than a question. Despite my long-standing history with the country, my Italian remains rusty at best, but Anna, my housekeeper very kindly translated – albeit with a sly smile. He was apparently asking me if I was one of the peacocks.

Pitti Uomo celebrated its 30th birthday in June this year(Shutterstock)

Montepulciano, the hilltop town, makes for a pretty stopover en route to Florence (Shutterstock)

The impressively imposing Fortezza da Basso is the venue for Pitti Uomo in Florence (Shutterstock)

Samir Imran is not only a Pitti veteran but is also the founder of Bureza, a made-to-measure product line crafted in Italy (Arvind Vijaymohan )

“ Strewn across various sites within the Fortezza’s daunting walls, Pitti Uomo is a masculine maze of a legendary order ”

The writer (centre) with (from left) Osman Abdul Razak, Vishal Mawandi and two international buyers (Arvind Vijaymohan )

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is just a few steps away from the Fortezza (Shutterstock)

Florence doubles as the centre for art in Italy (Shutterstock)