Maranello: a visit to the Italian Heaven (Part Two)
Walking in heaven seems so surreal, but it comes true if you visit a certain town called Maranello. Things in that Italian ‘jewel box’ are different from everything you make experience with in the real world. Last August, F1technical.net’s Balazs Szabo visited Ferrari’s heart which did not fail to impress.
The first part of the article can be read here.
The museum offers a deep look into Ferrari’s history, sportscar and F1 success. Ferrari is proud of what it has achieved. At the entrance there is a Ferrari shop, a café and a simulator service. The actual museum consists of three floors. On the first one Ferrari’s most successful sportscars await you. It is a unique experience to see the evaluation of Ferrari’s ultrasuccessful, blindingly fast machineries.
On the second floor, Ferrari’s F1 history is shown from very different aspects. You can also watch a short, emotional video of the Italian myth. In a special room a chance opens up for you to remember the last generations’ engine noises.
On the third floor, there is a mixture of Ferrari’s F1 and sportscars success. F1 and Le Mans success is spectacularly shown with a series of marvellous cars. You can also prove your skills by trying old steering wheels and gear levers out. You can also sense the tension of a race weekend at the Ferrari pit wall. The entire museum is a harsh test for your self-discipline. You want to touch everything, you want to connect with your body to the history of the mecca of motorsport.
It is hard to leave the museum. After that windstorm of history it is hard to leave the unique dimension, but you find yourself with other wonderful experiences waiting to meet you.
Ferrari organizes a special factory tour. You can get on a Ferrari bus which takes you around the most important places of the factory. You cannot get off and you are not allowed to take photos inside the territory of the factory. In fact, it is not a big deal as you have to use your naked eyes to record these corners of Ferrari’s heaven. It is a guided tour which means you get inside information. You get to know which task the various buildings fulfil, why the streets are named after Ferrari’s F1 champions and why there is no Michael Schumacher street. At the halfway point of the tour you leave the factory for a moment to head to Maranello’s emblematic statue, the Prancing Horse. Personally, I had amazing luck as a La Ferrari was painted with camouflage patterns as it was sent out of the factory for testing purposes.
After the museum and the tour it is worth discovering the town itself. You bump into Ferrari employees everywhere, every corner reminds you that you are at the most beautifully glowing volcano of motorsport. You can get a sight of Ferrari’s F1 headquarter which was built a few years ago and was moved a few meters away from the closed territory of the factory. It is a wonderful modern building, a glass palace. You can also stroll to Ferrari’s test track which is called Fiorano. You can get a view through the holes of the fences. It is where the great Michael Schumacher completed so many testing outings during his reign of the early 2000s. While walking down the streets, you meet many Ferrari shops, test drive opportunities. Many Ferrari cars pass by to spoil your ears.
Ferrari’s cars are unique, rare and unaffordably expensive to many, but the company does not want to hide itself from the fans. Ticket prices are moderate. The heart of Ferrari, the mecca of motorsport, the heaven of the Earth is a must for everyone who likes motorsport at least a wee bit.
The bus journeys, the ticket purchasing, the museums, the interactivity, the administration, the services, the way you are handled by Ferrari’s employees are all flawless. You only have one task: you have to forget the outside world and breath a piece of Ferrari in.
If you ever happen to visit Maranello, let the myth conquer you, let the breeze of history pervade your body and let yourself become part of this breath-taking myth.
