A Guide to Maranello
- Getting there
- The Factory
- The Scuderia
- The Galleria
Ferrari
- Shops
- Hotels
- Restaurants
Maranello
– the Mekka for every real Ferrarista in the
world. The hometown of the Ferrari factory and
the Scuderia Ferrari is located about 20 kms
south of Modena, the famous old city in the
Italian Emilia Romagna region (170 kms southeast
from Milan). Maranello – Italy’s secret
capital – is so important for the region
that the small town is signposted right from the
exit "Modena Nord" of the A1 motorway
from Milan to Bologna. Map
In the following
text you will learn about some Maranello sites
not to be missed when you should have the
occasion to visit Ferrari’s hometown.
The factory
is located on the Via Abetone Inferiore; this is
the very road on which one enters the town if one
follows the signposts from the above mentioned
motorway exit. Unfortunately, it is normally not
possible to visit the factory. Guided tours are
sometimes arranged for dealers and their
customers; maybe your local authorized Ferrari
dealer is willing to provide you with an
opportunity to join him on his next visit even if
you are not a Ferrari owner – just give it a
trial.
 
But the normal
Maranello visitor has at least the possibility to
have a look into the entrance hall of the factory
which is generally open to the public. Various
exhibits are on display there regularly, ranging
from current production to Formula One cars.
  
A nice place for
all "Ferrari spotters" is the Via Musso
adjacent to the factory; there is the factory
gate which is used by all cars (and prototypes!)
leaving the plant for test drives.
 
The Scuderia
Ferrari – Ferrari’s racing department
– is located in the Via Ascari and guarded
like Fort Knox, of course. Don’t expect to
see Michael Schumacher or Eddie Irvine leaving
the building. But the Scuderia is cult and hence
worth a photo anyway.
 
Ferrari’s
private test track is located at the end of the
Via Dino Ferrari (also see "Galleria
Ferrari"). There are some small streets
which end right on the fence of the track,
providing nice photo spots for people with big
lenses.
 
The Fiorano track
is used regularly for Formula One testing, but
also for trials with prototypes and normal
production cars. Needless to say that it is not
allowed to enter the area. Enzo Ferrari’s
former home is located inside the track, as is
the well-known red Starfighter jet plane.
 
Ferrari’s
factory museum is to be found in the Via Dino
Ferrari. You can find photos of the majority of
the automotive exposits on this site; but since
the exhibits are changed from time to time, the
Galleria is always worth a visit – even if
one has already been there once. The Galleria is
open daily except on Mondays between 9.30 h and
12.30 h and from 15.00 h to 18.00 h.
  
There are
plenty of memorabilia shops in Maranello.
"Warm Up" and "Hors Ligne"
are located close to the Galleria Ferrari in the
Via Dino Ferrari, "Shopping Formula 1"
can be found in the Via Alfieri, facing the
factory entrance. And these are only the most
"famous" shops. It is possible to buy
official Ferrari merchandising products in the
Galleria Ferrari, too, by the way.
 
There are
many hotels around; I would like to mention two
of them: "Hotel Domus" is located right
in the heart of Maranello at the Piazza Libertà
38, adjacent to the city hall (which is known to
the enthusiast through old factory press
photographs; the town hall was often used as an
adequate background). Telephone is
+39/0536/941071. In the old days, many Grand Prix
drivers used to stay there!
For the more
sophisticated Maranello tourist, the expensive
"Executive Hotel" in nearby Fiorano
might be more suitable. Address: Via Circ. San
Francesco 2, I-41042 Fiorano. Tel.:
+39/0536/832010.
The Italian
cuisine is always a pleasure. A "must"
for the Maranello tourist is the "Il
Cavallino", which is somehow part of the
factory and located right across the street from
the factory entrance. Enzo himself used to have a
small private room over there where he had lunch
almost every day. "Il Cavallino" is
closed on Sundays.
Another excellent
restaurant is "Da William" in the Via
Flavio Gioia 1. Ferrari’s CEO, Luca Cordero
di Montezemolo, is a regular customer. Try the
Tortelloni con burro e salvia!
If only a little
time is left visit the Pizzeria in the Hotel
Domus right at Piazza Libertà, where the Pizza
and Pasta is excellent.
by
Andreas Birner
More
pictures in the Gallery
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