Modena: Maserati … Panini Collection

The USA has a “Motor City.”

Italy has a “Motor Valley” … of which Modena is considered to be the capital.

Today, hopping on a train — and then a bus … followed by a 1.2-mile walk — Mui went to Modena to check out the Maserati Umberto Panini Collection.

It was a good dreary-day-outing for him … all the more so after a computer mishap yesterday ‘ate’ the Weddell Sea video project he was working on. The trip certainly cheered him up.

Umberto Panini — a Modanese entrepreneur with “… a deep mechanical passion …” — founded the museum that first opened in the early 1990s. Since 2025, it’s been welcoming car enthusiasts at its current location.

Since I wasn’t on this outing with Mui, and he is not one to put pencil to paper, so to speak, the next bit is from the museum’s website …

“The Collection’s heart features an extraordinary selection of Maserati automobiles, tracing the brand’s evolution from its origins to the present day. Umberto Panini saved these in 1996, in their original core of 14 vehicles from the Official Museum. Among them are several iconic and rare models that testify to Modena’s engineering excellence and Italian design.

The Maserati Umberto Panini Collection is where the passion for motors is passed down through generations, safeguarding the memory of an era and celebrating Italian ingenuity—a true rebirth for the Trident’s history in Modena.”

The exhibition, which includes single-seaters from the pre-war era to the 2014 Alfieri prototype, spans over 100 years of Maserati production … or as the promotional card Mui was given says, “100 years of passion.”

As it was raining when he was ready to leave, Mui begged a ride to the bus stop from two British women who’d been wandering the museum as well. Thus he managed to complete a successful outing without getting wet!

(P.S. Mui didn’t know it at the time, but while he was gone, I went down a research ‘rabbit hole’ and managed to resurrect his Weddell Sea project after trying several recommendations I found on the web. So, he came back to that good news to further improve his day.)Leggi altro