Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy

The day before we spent in Modena before returning home for a home cooked meal. Today we’d be heading to the Ferrari factory in Maranello.

Modena to Maranello

I was super excited for this day to come, as it was something I had been eagerly anticipating. Being in this region meant that we would be near Maranello, home of Ferrari. I’ve been a fan of Ferrari Formula One Racing for quite some time. Being able to go to the home of it was super exciting!

In order to get there, we would need to make our way to Modena first. We visited Modena the day before and discovered a very tasty pork sandwich. We were all eager to get another one again! It didn’t disappoint!

From Modena there is a bookable shuttle that picks you up from the train station and takes you to the museum.

On the half hour trip to the museum, we passed some other notable landmarks. Of note was the Maserati headquarters, the Enzo Ferrari museum, and some interestingly decorated traffic circles. Even some of the buildings were painted in Ferrari Red.

Tubi

So on our way to the museum my sister and I had been sitting on opposite sides of the bus. When the Ferrari factory appeared in the distance I got excited! As we got closer, I pointed out different buildings that I recognized from a documentary I’d watched prior to this trip. Eventually, the iconic wind tunnel (which is in the shape of a cylinder or tube) popped into view.

Naturally, I tried to point it out to my sister, referencing it as “Hey, there’s the tubey thing!” She sounded surprised and confused that the documentary would reference “tubey”. It took us a little bit to realize that at the exact moment I had said it, on her side of the window was a warehouse with a sign that said “Tubi”

We had a really good laugh about how coincidental it was for my choice of words, the timing and the business called Tubi. To this day we still laugh about it.

The Ferrari Museum

Initially I had this dream that once I arrived in Maranello, the entire city would be driving Ferraris everywhere. The first car I saw was in fact, a Ferrari! This only reinforced that notion.

Sadly this was not the case. But we did end up driving by the original main entrance of the Ferrari factory enroute to the museum.

It was a short drive from the factory to the museum. I was finally here and was like a kid in a candy store! We quickly paid our admission and made our way into the museum. The museum is setup so that it shows the luxury/super car side of the brand and then separates the racing/Formula one portion.

Ferraris!

It was really cool to see different generations of Ferraris as well as very special versions of their super cars. I’m not a huge car guy, but I certainly appreciate a good looking automobile when I see one. Being in the home of Ferrari there were good looking cars everywhere you looked!

Formula One

I was most excited for the next section. I had been following Formula One for quite some time and had been a big Ferrari fan for most of it. Being able to see some of the cars, and elements up close, when I only had the television view before was awesome!

As we continued through the exhibits, there was a room that was called the “Hall of Champions”. It was dedicated to all the awards the racing team had won over its history. This room was a dream room for me. I remember (being in North America) staying up late to watch races where the team had won a constructors or drivers championship. I was in racing heaven!

One of the things I wasn’t able to take photos of was the actual Ferrari Factory tour and test track. We booked a bus tour through the factory campus and the chance to drive through the Fiorano Circuit. This was the racing team’s private test track. Unfortunately there was an event going on and our bus wasn’t allowed on the track. However, as a consolation we drove up to the track and our guide opened the doors of the bus. Several Ferraris were on the track and our guide described each car as it passed by the whine of its engines. What a cool experience to hear and compare the sounds of different engines as they drove by at crazy speed. All in all I was happy for this trade off!

Parade of Ferraris

Our day was coming to an end. As we were about to board the shuttle back to Modena, something amazing happened! There was an event going on at Ferrari that evening. Ferrari owners from all over were invited and started showing up. It looked like there would be some sort of performance as well. My dream of seeing a city full of Ferraris finally came true!

Buca Manzoni

After a long but satisfying day out, we decided to try a restaurant nearby to our apartment for dinner called Buca Manzoni. We ordered bolognese, tortellini and a tasty pork cutlet. It was an amazing way to end of an amazing day!

We decided that we would take it easy tomorrow and spend some time shopping and exploring Bologna a bit more.