A Pilgrimage to Italy’s Iconic Superbikes and Supercars in Emilia-Romagna

It’s not every day that you get a last-minute dinner invite from Italy’s famous Chef Massimo Bottura. Our small group of journos joined some Motor Valley leaders at Al Gatto Verde on his Casa Maria Luigia estate. Owner of the three-Michelin-star winning Osteria Francescana, he is known for his love of slow food and fast cars. Before eating that slow food, he gave us a tour of his own Ducatis, Maseratis, and Ferraris, including a white Lamborghini with a splash of yellow, customized to look like his famous, “Oops, I Dropped the Lemon Tart.”  

I was in Emilia-Romagna for the annual Motor Valley Fest in Modena, celebrating the region’s history of designing the most legendary supercars and superbikes in the world. It was a week of firsts. Earlier that day, I was at a ribbon cutting ceremony with dignitaries at Ducal Palace, where cars priced in the millions decorated a courtyard of Baroque architecture. That was followed by taking a Ferrari 296 Challenge for a couple of laps at the Autodromo di Modena. 

This was a pilgrimage to the iconic brands that filled my childhood, and anyone ready for an Italian road trip can do the same. Here’s how.

From Bologna, the nearest international airport to Modena, there are plenty of options for supercar fandom within an hour’s drive between the two cities. There are some must-see museums and factory tours that get you up close with these legendary brands including Ducati, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Pagani. Make Hotel Palace Milano in Modena your centralized homebase. Modena is home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the Ghirlandina Tower, Piazza Grande, and Modena’s Cathedral. (While you’re there, get Neopolitan-style pizza at La Smorfia.)

The closest to Bologna, the story of Ducati didn’t begin with superbikes. It began with the radio 100 years ago. In the early 20th century, when Marconi was making a name for inventing wireless telegrams, Adriano Cavalieri Ducati had patented and built his own short-wave transmitter capable of reaching the United States. His success led to a large factory, which was destroyed by the Allied forces in 1944. Ducati pivoted, using his knowledge of electronics and manufacturing to create motorized bikes in Italy, where Italians needed an inexpensive form of transportation. 

Iconic bikes like the popular 1969 Scrambler 450, the beautiful Ducati 916, or the powerful 1299 Superleggera, set standards for what bikes should look like, and their breakthrough MotoE is doing the same for electric motorcycles. At the Museo-Ducati you can time travel through Ducati history with each new innovation and follow it up with a factory tour, to see where the magic is made.

Nothing is more synonymous with racing than a Ferrari. Its look and engine roar is so iconic that it has made it difficult for Ferrari to break into the world of all-electric vehicles. (Their first, the Ferrari Luce, debuted to jeers and a nearly 6 percent drop in shares.) 

The brand dominates Emilia-Romagna, with the Museo Enzo Ferrari in the city of Modena, which focuses on the life and work of Enzo Ferrari, and the Museum Ferrari Maranello 30 minutes away with a flashy tour of the cars, including factory and track tours.

Pro Tip: while you’re at the Museum Ferrari Maranello, get reservations at Ferrari-themed and Michelin-Star-winning, Ristorante Cavallino, a partnership between Ferrari and Chef Massimo Bottura. 

And while you’re at it, visit the Autodromo di Modena and get behind the wheel of one of their Ferraris or Lamborghinis for three laps. Costs vary, and there will be an experienced driver in the passenger seat with you showing you how to use the paddle shifters. For those who want the ride but aren’t comfortable driving, you can also be driven around the track.

Lambos have long felt futuristic, with the Countach being my favorite as a kid. The low-riding masterpiece was so wide that it required the trademark, sci-fi like “scissor doors,” to keep them within the car’s footprint. Fun fact: the Countach served as the Batmobile in the comics and the Lamborghini Murcielago (Spanish for “bat”) was Bruce Wayne’s choice on the big screen. Give the Lamborghini Museum a stop on your road trip for a close-up look at all the models that made the brand a legend. While Lamborghini entered the hybrid market a few years ago, their attempts at the full-electric, Lamborghini Lanzador, were met with yawns, leading to its cancellation. (So maybe they’re not as futuristic as they could be.)

Founded in 1992, Pagani Automobili is a newer kid on the block, and its founder, Horacio Pagani was once an engineer at Lamborghini. The unpainted Countach Evoluzione that was made out of composite materials was Pagani’s brainchild. Lamborghini wasn’t ready to embrace a future with carbon fiber, and Pagani’s imagination and drive couldn’t be contained within Lamborghini’s limitations, so he founded his own company and leaned into carbon fiber for his line of elite hypercars, creating the Zonda. At the Motor Valley Fest opening ceremony, it was the Pagani Utopia Roadster in metallic green with a tan leather interior — a work of art — that held my attention. 

The Pagani Museum and factory tour near Modena is well-worth a visit. The factory and offices feel almost like a modern tech-start-up, making it easy to forget you’re actually in a factory.

An hour west of Modena, (near Parma) is the Dallara Academy. Dallara is the lesser-known of race car manufacturers, but whose engineering has defined modern brands and can be felt in all the famous races, from Indy to Formula. Dallara Academy is a school for aspiring young engineers and a museum that showcases their models and history. It’s a fantastic tour with a strong history to explore, and it includes a factory tour for those wanting to see the magic happen. It’s also an opportunity to add Parma to your historic Italian cities bucket-list. 

Emilia-Romagna is home to many incredible things, but for many, a trip to the region focused on supercars and bikes will feel like a pilgrimage to their childhood.