Ducati Motorcycle

Beyond the Motorshow Bologna: Exploring Bologna's Automobile Heritage

Discover more about the wonders that created the Motorshow Bologna

There are many exciting events that are worth taking part of during your stay in lively Bologna. If you plan on spending the onset of the winter holidays in Bologna, you can complete your vacation with a visit to the Motorshow Bologna and to the museums that showcase the automobile masterpieces of Italy.

The Motorshow Bologna is an international auto show held in Bologna in December of every year. The Motorshow Bologna is held at the Bologna Fiere and is considered as the most important event of the Italian automobile industry. All new and updated automobiles and motorcycles of Italian make will take center stage at the show.

If you can spend your holiday weekend in Bologna in time for the show, you will experience a full five-day event that showcases and celebrates Bologna's significant role in the luxury car and motorcycle market.

Bologna is the home of several luxury cars and motorcycles, which reflects even more the city's lavish and extraordinary lifestyle. Famous luxury vehicle brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Ducati can all be traced back to Bologna. So if you get a chance to visit the city, you should take time to explore its luxuriant side by paying a visit to the museums that flaunt these remarkable vehicles. There you will see the automobiles that commanded the kind of attention the Motorshow Bologna affords. Car enthusiast or not, you will certainly find your visits memorable.

If you are planning your Bologna vacation and would like to add these museums to your itinerary, be sure to find a hotel that gives you the relaxing vacation you need as well as good access to these top destinations. One such hotel is the Relais Valfiore, which is strategically located in a slightly out-of-the-way area just outside downtown Bologna to give guests the peace and respite they long for without taking them too far away from the center of the action.

Despite its seemingly secluded ambience and surrounding parks, the Relais Valfiore is, in fact, only 12 kilometers away from the city center where the Bologna Fiere or Bologna Fair is located. But before you will fully appreciate the modern offers of the Motorshow Bologna, you should explore the foundations of the city's luxury automobile industry. And just nearby lies the three museums you must visit in order to do this. These are the Ducati Museum, the Lamborghini Museum, and the Ferrari Museum or Galleria Ferrari.

From Relais Valfiore, you can set out to visit the Ducati Museum first, which is located in Via Cavalieri Ducati in Bologna. The large 1, 000 sq/m Ducati Museum is nestled within the Ducati factory headquarters. It was opened only in 1998 during the first World Ducati Week, but it tells of the history of the Ducati company, from its conception in 1926, and showcases Ducati's past products. You will find antique Ducati motorcycles and the billboards that hailed them during their heydays.

To fully appreciate the museum, you can join guided tours by obtaining advanced reservations. The museum is open daily except on Sundays and holidays. But if you wish to join a tour, you can choose from the 11 am or the 4 pm schedule. You can also explore the museum at leisure since visits are entirely free.

Next, you can make your way to the Lamborghini Museum, which is located in the area that connects Bologna with neighboring city Modena. It lies at about 21 miles from Bologna and can be easily driven to. The museum was established in 2001 and aims to celebrate one of the most expensive Italian cars in the world.

You can freely visit the museum and spend hours gazing admirably at its extensive collection of Lamborghini luxury vehicles that fill up two levels of the museum, with the second level showcasing the even more impressive race cars of Lamborghini's 80s days as well as some its concept cars. You even get a glimpse of the company's factory floor, so you can get an inkling of just how these masterpieces are carefully made.

And to complete your unique museum-hopping, head over to Ferrari Museum or Galleria Ferrari. The museum is situated in Maranello, a town just outside Modena and located around 34 miles from Bologna. Although the museum is part of Ferrari's headquarters, it has its own building separate from the Ferrari factory. Of the three museums in your itinerary, the Ferrari Museum is the oldest, dating back to 1990. The museum spans an amazing 2, 500 sq/m and is divided into four sections, namely the Formula One collection, the special exhibits, the technological innovation exhibit, and the photo exhibits.

The Formula One collection displays the extraordinary race cars that have played a monumental role in making Ferrari the most famous automobile maker in the world. One of the most remarkable cars is the first Ferrari 125 S that was built in 1947 and won a race in the same year. And to give you a glimpse of what F1 racing is all about, you can check out the Fiorano test track next to the museum where you might even see a Ferrari racing past.

Once you've completed your visits to the three museums showcasing Bologna's automobile industry, you can drive leisurely back to your peaceful and relaxing room at the Relais Valfiore. Now you're ready to fully appreciate the wonder that wraps around the major event that is the Motorshow Bologna.