Fans and scholars of British sleuth Sherlock Holmes will gather for a three-day conference here to mark the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Italian Holmes appreciation society 'A Study in Holmes'.
This year also marks the 120th anniversary of the publication of A Study in Scarlet, the first story featuring the iconic investigator and master of deduction.
The November 23-25 event will seek to bring the detective back to the streets of Florence, which Holmes claims to have visited in 1891 in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story The Adventure of the Empty House.
Taking part in the conference here will be delegations of Holmes enthusiasts and experts from such countries as France, Japan, Australia, the United States, Venezuela and Britain.
It will be opened Friday night at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi with an address of the vice president of the Province of Florence, Holmes fan Andrea Barducci, and will wind up on Sunday night with a live broadcast on the state radio RAI2 program 'All the Colors of Mystery'.
The three-day event also includes a visit to the city's Museum of Musical Instruments, in honor of Holmes' passion for the violin.
Holmes' visit to Florence is mentioned in The Adventure of the Empty House when the detective recalls his movements in the years following his supposed death at the Reichenbach Falls, together with his archenemy Professor Moriarty, to his reappearance in London to resolve a mysterious murder which is at the center of the story.
Britain's Royal Mail is issuing a special collector's stamp to mark the 29th anniversary of the Italian appreciation society.
