opera, vinegar and cars

What do those three things have in common?  Modena.  Modena, the birthplace of balsamic vinegar, Enzo Ferrari, Luciano Pavarotti.  We went in search of cars.  

To the Ferrari museum.

I had a hunch the AC would be good in here and I was not disappointed.  This place is huge.  When we approached Modena on the train, an enormous yellow circus tent-like structure blocks your view of the skyline.  I had no idea what this bright blob was, I only registered some irritation for having my sight lines obscured.  Once we got off the train it dawned on me that I had actually been seeing the outside of the museum we'd travelled specifically to visit.  It's really very interestingly designed and fun.  Here's what the lobby looks like.  You enter the showroom through the rounded opening between those two gold cats, which incidentally are former props from a production of Aida.

This was my favorite car.

I especially loved its label.

You enter at the top of a slope, like a big white roadway that loops around and descends for maximum picture taking opportunities.

There's also a kind of terrace around one side over which short biographical films are projected and where car enthusiasts have the option of an aerial view of the showroom.

Did I mention the museum also honors and celebrates the life of Pavarotti? Set props are interspersed throughout.  Here you see A posing on one, a throne.

Periodically, the lights go out and films come on commemorating the achievements of Ferrari and Pavarotti.  Liza Minnelli makes an appearance as do other celebrities who have connections with the cars or the tenor.  The films were was over the top blasting a kind of medley of music and visuals.  We loved it!

N's favorite car the F50.  Oops it's not his favorite but he does like it.

This is his favorite, the F40, from the early 80s.  Vintage!

Leaving the museum two hours later.

I loved the wacky juxtapositions of old and new here.  That's the end of the museum wall, but I'm not sure exactly what that fortress like tower is behind it.

Trudging through town in 100 degree heat.  Modena felt very different from Ravenna and Bologna.  It had a much more quiet stateliness about it.  It could have been the heat and the fact that the streets were deserted, but there was something very self-possessed about it, very understated and elegant. 

We found on a side alley a very comfortable little cafe and salumeria where they cure their own meat and cheese, called "bicicletta".  I drew a picture of a little bear, A's spirit animal, riding on their logo, the bici.

Here's A's self portrait as the "prancing bear"...

To go along with the prancing horse, il cavallo rampante, the symbol for Ferrari.

Our lunches: a salad of tuna, onions and beans,

A vegetarian sandwich,

and another salad that included walnuts, tuna, bocconcini (which I am probably spelling wrong).

Here's a philosophical statement about how cycling is a way to find oneself.

And so we headed back to Bologna.  I can hear the wind outside.  I hope that means it will cool off tonight and with any luck, tomorrow as well.