Museo Storico Alfa Romeo – new and improved.
One of the highlights of my summer holiday this year was a visit to “la macchina del tempo – Museo Storico Alfa Romeo” (The Time Machine – Alfa Romeo Historical Museum) which was only re-opened on 24 June 2015 to co-incide with the launch of the new Alfa Romeo Giulia.
The museum is in the province of Milan in the Italian region of Lombardy, and is located about 12 kilometres northwest of Milan.
Situated alongside the new museum is a brand centre for Alfa Romeo, which includes a new showroom, test track, customer delivery area, cafe and bookshop. All of these elements are tastefully combined to provide the perfect setting for Alfa Romeo to celebrate its 105-year history to promote its new cars.
The previous Alfa Romeo museum closed in 2009 after the Arese plant was decommissioned. A new museum design was commissioned in late 2013, and work started on the new museum last summer. The museum, unlike before, is now open to the public without having to book in advance and is home to 69 of Alfa’s most iconic road and race cars.
As soon as you enter the museum it is evident that a great deal of thought and effort have been put into the design and layout of the museum which is spread out over three floors. Despite the number of cars that could potentially be on display Alfa have resisted the temptation to cram vehicles in. The exhibits are well spaced out and visitors can enjoy the seamless flow of the museum as they move from one part to another.
The three floors each get their own theme: ‘Timeline’, which is a chronological walk-through of some of Alfa’s great road cars; ‘Beauty’, which features some of its famous models from coachbuilders, design studios, concept cars and movie cars; and ‘Speed’, which shows off some of Alfa’s legendary racing cars.
The Timeline section houses 19 cars, including Alfa’s first model, the 24HP of 1910, through to the 8C and 6C models of the 1930s and 1940s, the 1900 and Giulietta of the 1950s, 1962’s Giulia, the Alfetta, Alfasud and Montreal of the 1970s, and also the 75, 156, 164 and 8C of more recent times.
Several themed areas feature in the Beauty section, including Alfas by famous Italian design houses such as Pininfarina, Bertone, Touring Superleggera and Giugiaro. Alfas from the 1930s and 1940s coachbuilt by Touring also feature in this section, including the Pebble Beach Concours-winning 1938 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta.
Multiple versions of the Giulia and Giulietta are given prominence in special exhibits in the Beauty section to recognise their significance in Alfa’s history.
The Speed section of the museum features some famous Alfa racing cars, including F1 world championship-winning cars of the 1950s, Mille Miglia and Targa Florio winners. More modern touring car winners are also on display and photos and video footage celebrate the achievements of some of Alfa’s most famous drivers including Fangio, Farina and Fagioli.
I particularly liked the various exhibits where mirrors were used as a backdrop so that a complete view of the cars from one spot was possible, thus enabling the beautiful lines of the vehicles in question to be easily admired.
The museum is a fine showcase of the pedigree of the Alfa Romeo brand and a reminder of all the stunning cars it has produced over the last 100+ years. The experience was further enhanced with an enjoyable spin in some Alfas, courtesy of the 3D cinema treat that we experienced – some light hearted fun that adults and children alike enjoyed.
The icing on the cake came at the end of the museum tour when I got to feast my eyes on the new Giulia Quadrifoglio in the showroom. It certainly has a menacing look and purposeful stance – I only hope that the lesser models in the range will be just as appealing when they are launched. I asked the marketing executive if she had any literature on the new Giulia – she didn’t but instead she gave me a hard back brochure on the new Alfa 4C Spider. Maybe that was a sign that I should order one of these instead!!
In summary, the message is simple – visit the Alfa Romeo museum if you get the chance. You will not be disappointed.
The museum opening hours are:
– Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 10 am until 6 pm
– Thursday open from 10am until 10 pm
– closed on Tuesday (and also on 25th December and 1st January)
The cost is a very reaosnable 12 euro for adults and 8 euro for children and concessions.
Tim Logan
Club Secretary
