Enzo Ferrari museum to open in March

“The Origins of the Myth” is the first exhibition scheduled for display when the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari opens to the public on March 10. The museum complex is dedicated to Enzo Ferrari and motorsport in Ferrari's hometown of Modena, Italy.

But celebrations in Modena will begin nearly a month earlier, marking the birth of the great car builder on Feb. 18. Ferrari was born in 1898 and died in 1988.

“It is with great satisfaction and enthusiasm that, after years of intense work by the Fondazione Casa di Enzo Ferrari, we are on the point of inaugurating this important cultural asset, that will tell the world the story of this great figure and the vocation for motoring of this area,” says Mauro Tedeschini, president of the Fondazione Casa di Enzo Ferrari.

The museum started from the restoration of the house in which Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena, and that has preserved through the years to both the living quarters and the workshop. To this was added a new building in the form of the now famous yellow aluminum “bonnet” whose color is the symbol of the city of Modena and the color chosen by Enzo Ferrari as the background to the Prancing Horse, the trademark of the company that bears his name.

“The Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari represents the final addition to the tourist attractions in this area related to motoring,” said Adriana Zini, general secretary of the Fondazione, “and will become a cult place for motoring enthusiasts and a major destination for cultural and industrial tourism. For the city of Modena it will be an international icon. Together with the Ferrari Museum at Maranello, with which it will operate in synergy, and with other important motoring assets in the area such as the Marzaglia motor-racing circuit and the Righini, Panini and Stanguellini Collections, it will fully meet the expectations of visitors from all over the world.”

The exhibition is dedicated to the story of Ferrari the man, the driver and the constructor, placed in the context of the 1900s and the era which saw him as an undisputed star in motorsport, with its cast of actors, its places and the competitions that characterized the events of his life--from the street circuit of Modena to motor-racing circuits around the world to the Mille Miglia; from Scaglietti, Fantuzzi, Stanguellini to Maserati, Pagani, De Tomaso, Lamborghini as well as Alfa Romeo.

In his birthplace there is a permanent multimedia display which retraces the important events in Ferrari's life. He believed that “if you can dream it, you can do it,” and Ferrari saw the car as a work of art. He considered racing as a testing ground for the continuous development and improvement of technology and the reaching of perfection. Passion and creativity, research, innovation, courage and challenges--these are the key words that emerge from the life of Enzo Ferrari and that are at the root of the myth who made Modena and Maranello capitals of a dream come true.

The stars of the exhibition in the new gallery will be the cars themselves, representatives of the great Italian names from the most prestigious collections and museums, exhibited as works of art. The vehicles will be surrounded by showcases containing historic documents, objects and memorabilia, with the contribution of original audio-visual footage that reconstructs the identity of Motor Valley-Emilia Romagna.

The museum itself is a prestigious work of contemporary architecture designed by Future Systems of London, formerly headed by the great architect Jan Kaplicky (he died 2009). The interior design and museum layout were under the supervision of architect Andrea Morgante of Shiro Studio, codesigner of the project.

The museum is located close to the historic city center of Modena and the Maserati plant, in the area outside the city walls that was the first in Modena to be developed and where, close to the railway, the first large industrial complexes were built.

The museum has 54,000 square feet of floor space including a teaching room with a digital archive, a conference room, a projection room, a shop and a coffee shop. Total cost for the project is in excess of $23 million.

The museum will be open 363 days a year. The founding bodies and sponsors of the Fondazione Casa di Enzo Ferrari are the Modena City Council, the Provincial Administration of Modena, the Modena Chamber of Commerce, Ferrari S.p.A. and the Italian Automobile Club.

By Roger Hart