Ferrari Fantasy

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On the side of the Autostrada near Reggio Emilia, there stands an effigy of a ferrari and a sign advertising the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy, the birthplace of Ferrari. It was something I had to see and how could my father possibly refuse, they have a place in his heart as well, so we set off to find it one afternoon. It was just him and I this time and we managed to get really really lost. We ended up taking backcountry roads and kept missing Maranello somehow, which means when we finally reached Maranello and saw the first prancing horse, it was already 5pm.


Tensions were running high, as we were both frustrated and worried, my father about getting lost again on the way home, and myself about it being too late to go to the museum. Before we almost came to blows, we drove by la Fabrica Ferrari - the Ferrari manufacturing plant, and, it being 5pm, the end of the workday, we were treated to a fabulous phenomenon. The workers were trickling out of the factory gates and slowly but surely, the main street was soon flooded with people on foot, people on scooters, on motorcycles and in cars, all wearing their red ferrari pit crew uniform. It was like a wave of Ferrari oompaloompas. I had no idea, and felt very lucky to be seeing this daily exodus, and as my father explained the proportion of Ferrari employees who work for the racing team, and those that build the sports cars we slowly drove through the trickle and passed the main gates of the Factory.


We were still looking for the museum though, and were really pressed for time, but first, a stop to the official Ferrari store! Ah consumerism. It stands on a corner right across the street from the main gates of the factory and across the other street stands Il Cavallino, the restaurant Enzo Ferrari used to frequent every day. We had seen our first Ferrari of the day out on the city streets as we were parking, a beautiful model, though I can't remember which one, and it was explained to me that they test the Ferraris on the roads of Maranello. Amazing! We had the pleasure of seeing several more beautiful cars being driven around, even a Ferrari Enzo, which took a little ire away from the fact that we could not get straight directions to the museum which was closing for the day soon!! No one on the streets was of any help as all we ended up doing was cruising up and down the main street. It turns out the museum was a block away from the central point of Ferrari main gates, Cavallino and Official store, and a very pretty museum at that!


It wasn't very large, only a few showrooms, the first showcasing the Formula One Ferraris, from Gilles Villeneuve's and Niki Lauda's, to Schumacher's and Massa's. The cars' victories were proudly displayed. Above that room was a gallery housing the vintage Ferraris, the ones that can be remembered by their rounded noses, very sixties. The glamorous history of these Ferraris was exhibited along with photos of old Hollywood stars and movie posters. They had the movie Grand Prix playing in the background and a big picture of Enzo Ferrari being specific - see picture, he is being specific. The next room housed the modern Ferraris with all their beautiful angles. Engines and parts were exhibited in all their glory and this room seemed to be someone's dream garage from the 1980s or early 90s.
A small showcase of concept models was there as well.


Maranello is worth seeing if you are a Ferrari lover. The people who make the pilgrimmage are a passionate bunch; you could see the respect and the admiration in their eyes, allowing someone to get a good camera shot before coming in close to smell the leather and gaze at the interior.


We did rush in and rush out, and I would have given my right arm to actually get a tour of the factory, but I don't think they even allow that to the general public. It would have been cool to grab a bite at Il Cavallino too, earlier in the day while counting the Ferraris cruising by. There isn't much in Maranello besides Ferrari, but the people I saw live, eat and breathe Ferrari. What could be more exciting and what more could you need?

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