Alfa Romeo’s journey of passion and redemption
Milan museum displays racing successes, failures and showcases the famous car
For some of us of a certain age, at least in North America, our first exposure to Alfa Romeo was probably seeing one on the screen, likely The Graduate, the 1967 now-classic dramedy starring a young Dustin Hoffman and his character’s 1600 Duetto Spider. Personally, I was too busy immersing myself in the minutia that was Detroit’s wild and wonderful muscle-car era to pay much attention to funky looking Italian sports cars — other than Ferraris, naturally.
It wasn’t until I began reading the works of Ken Purdy, one of the pre-eminent automotive writers of the 1950s and ’60s that I began to develop an appreciation for the storied European marques, the great races — Monaco, Nürburgring, Le Mans, the Mille Miglia and the Targa Florio — and the dangerous, oftentimes deadly, world of motorsports.
Which is a long-winded explanation of why the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo in Milan is a literal step back in time. It offers an exploration of the company ’s 107-year history, its rise, fall and redemption, its grand successes in racing and its failures, and, above all, its cars — some weird, some wonderful, many of them beautiful.
The museum exhibits 69 cars that mark the development of Alfa Romeo not just as a car manufacturer but also as a racing powerhouse. These include the 1910 24 HP, the very first A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili) car, as well as the Mille Miglia-winning 6C 1750 Gran Sport driven by Tazio Nuvolari and the Alfetta 159 world Formula One winner driven by Juan Manuel Fangio. And you don’t have to be a gearhead to appreciate the aerodynamic masterpieces that are the 1952 Disco Volante or the 1938 3C 2900B Lungo.
The exhibits have been laid out in three specific themes — Timeline, Bellezza (Beauty) and Velocità (Speed), each one getting its own floor.
Timeline occupies the entire first floor, with a selection of 19 cars that represent the development of Alfa Romeo, each accompanied by a multimedia information panel. The exhibit is completed by an “interactive memory”, a smart-tech station where visitors can access an interactive system for more details about the history of each model.
Bellezza is on the ground floor and features several theme areas that highlight the major Italian coachbuilders, from the Progetto 33 (Masters of Style), which combines nine major design examples from each era, to La scuola italiana (The Italian School), displaying cars built by the Touring carrozzeria, using the Superleggera name, in the 1930s and ’40s. In the centre lies Alfa Romeo nel cinema (Alfa Romeo in the Movies). Then there’s Il Fenomeno Giulietta (The Giulietta Phenomenon) and Giulia: disegnata dal vento (Giulia: Designed by the Wind), with models that showcase the growth of Italy’s postwar economy as well as Italian taste and design in the 1950s and ’60s.
Speed stretches across the entire sub-ground floor. This is where Alfa Romeo enthusiasts can take in Alfa’s legendary sport and racing cars and recall their major victories, from Nasce la leggenda (A Legend is Born), a multimedia space that groups together the stars of major competitions from the 1920s and ’30s, through to the debut in F1 racing, Progetto 33 — Alfa’s series of Tipo competition cars from 1967 to 1977 — and Le corse nel DNA (Racing in Alfa Romeo’s DNA). Visitors then enter the Tempio delle vittorie (Temple of Victories), another area where pictures, sounds and film footage present the 10 biggest triumphs in the history of Alfa Romeo.
The museum itself was first opened in 1976, though visits were by reservation only. Following the shutdown of Alfa’s Arese manufacturing plant, where the museum is located, it was closed in 2011. As part of Alfa Romeo’s global relaunch plan, the museum was refreshed and reopened to the public in June 2015, not coincidentally during the world preview of the new Giulia sedan. A red cantilever roof covers the entire extension of the facility.
In addition to being the home of Alfa Romeo’s historic collection, it has become a “brand centre,” with a bookshop, cafe, documentation centre, test drive track, event venues and a showroom with a customer delivery area.
Visiting Italy? Sure, you could go see the Colosseum or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, visit the Vatican or drive the Amalfi Coast. But if you appreciate great cars or are a motorsport buff, then a side trip to Milan is a must.