If crafting a comprehensive guide to the province of Bologna in Motor Valley style was no easy task, doing it for Modena will be an even greater challenge.

Yet, there is a book that serves as our roadmap once again: the very same one that guided us through a past feature on the Stanguellini family and helped us map out Bologna’s relationship with two and four wheels in our dedicated guide.

Let’s pick up from that exact point to begin our journey through the Modena region:

It is within this restless balance between technical discipline and a relentless drive for speed that a unique world takes shape, one that makes the concentration of some of the most iconic names in Italian motorsport, all within just a few kilometers, feel completely natural.

Today, Piovene would have added Pagani Automobili to his narrative as well. It is a detail that speaks volumes about how Modena became the Capital of the Motor Valley.

But still, not quite enough.

Modena and its visions: brands, factories, and timeless museums

From Ferrari and Maserati to Pagani, Modena brings together some of the most radical expressions of the automobile. Not to mention the indelible mark left by Stanguellini, preserved in its namesake museum.

Here, the spirit of the Motor Valley finds one of its most defining forms. With museums and factories woven into the landscape, what is considered a myth elsewhere is simply part of daily life in Modena.

Let’s explore how these homegrown icons forge their connection with enthusiasts.

Ferrari: the factory and the museums between Modena and Maranello

Between Modena and Maranello lives the legend of the Prancing Horse.

Serving as twin benchmarks for enthusiasts are two complementary locations, capable of capturing the Ferrari universe from different yet perfectly intertwined perspectives.

In Modena lies the Enzo Ferrari Museum, a striking space that blends past and future beneath the unmistakable yellow roof inspired by the hood of a racing car. Inside, temporary exhibitions, iconic models, and multimedia content tell the story of Enzo Ferrari and the company that revolutionized the very concept of the sports car.

Heading over to Maranello, you step instead into the operational heart of the brand, home to the Museo Ferrari. Here, the experience focuses on the cars that shaped the history of the Prancing Horse: from Formula 1 single-seaters to the most celebrated grand tourers, alongside trophies, engines, and immersive installations.

Two distinct yet deeply connected stops, designed for anyone looking to explore every nuance of the Ferrari world. Below, you will find all the useful information to plan your visit, from opening hours to the experiences on offer.

Maserati: the house of the Trident

Born in Bologna in 1914, achieving greatness in Modena. It is inside the historic Viale Ciro Menotti plant — home to the Trident for over 80 years — that Maserati continues to give shape to its own definition of sporting elegance, blending craftsmanship, innovation, and racing heritage.

The Factory Tour Maserati allows you to step into the operational heart of the Modenese house and discover firsthand how a Trident car comes to life. It is a place that fuses the DNA of Made in Italy and Maserati’s historical legacy with a relentless drive toward the future and innovation. Completely renovated, today it hosts new production lines, engine assembly, and the paint shops dedicated to the MC20, GT2 Stradale, GranTurismo, and GranCabrio models.

Pagani Automobili: Horacio Pagani’s Atelier

In San Cesario sul Panaro, just outside Modena, one of the most exclusive locations in the Motor Valley takes shape. This is where the Pagani world comes to life, built upon an obsessive pursuit of detail, craftsmanship, and extreme technology. A universe where every hypercar is crafted as a unique work of art.

Inside the Museum, you can live an immersive experience spanning design, engineering, and manufacturing excellence. The visit offers an up-close look at iconic models like the Zonda, Huayra, and Utopia, alongside prototypes, original drawings, and carbon fiber components that tell the story of the philosophy behind the brand founded by Horacio Pagani in 1992.

The journey then continues into the Atelier, the production heart of the company, where the cars take shape through manual craftsmanship and ultra-high-precision processes. It is an environment that feels more like a Renaissance workshop than a car factory, designed to showcase how seamlessly art and engineering are intertwined in Horacio Pagani’s vision.

The golden age of Modenese speed: the Stanguellini Museum

The Stanguellini Museum preserves the memory of a golden era of Modenese speed, shaped by flashes of genius and cars capable of defying far more powerful rivals. It is a place that captures the most authentic soul of the Motor Valley—perhaps the closest to the true, original spirit of racing.

Located in the heart of the city, the Stanguellini Museum houses racing cars, engines, original tools, photographs, and historical documents inside the historic workshop where Vittorio Stanguellini crafted his race cars. Stepping inside means taking a leap back in time, into a workshop frozen in the years when a working-class, visionary Modena fielded cars that took center stage in international competitions.

A story we also explored in depth in our dedicated feature: “The Stanguellini legacy: music, engines, and lightness at the heart of the Motor Valley”.

Autodromo di Modena: supercars and track driving

The beating heart of the Modenese Motor Valley, the Autodromo di Modena carries the legacy of a long racing tradition that, across city streets and the old Aerautodromo, turned Modena into one of the historic hubs of Italian motorsport.

Today, the Marzaglia circuit carries this history forward with a technical and versatile track layout dedicated to testing, events, and, above all, driving experiences that let you experience speed in a safe yet high-performance environment.

With the “Emozioni in pista” experience, you step into a rare dimension: a real track-driving session at the wheel of ultra-high-performance supercars:

• Ferrari 296 Challenge

• Ferrari 488 Challenge EVO

• Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo 1

• Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo

This is no mere demonstration lap, but the opportunity to truly drive on the track, guided by professional instructors in absolute safety.

This is paired with the Master Maserati Driving Experience, one of the most comprehensive and adrenaline-packed training programs for high-performance driving. A properly structured journey to learn how to manage sports cars under extreme conditions, always side-by-side with professional instructors.

The legacy of the collections

Places that allow you to traverse the history of the Land of Motors from an intimate perspective: living archives safeguarding unique pieces, documents, prototypes, and heritage capable of telling the story of the region’s technical and cultural transformation. On its map, Modena boasts some of the most fascinating collections in the Motor Valley.

Below is everything you need to know to plan a visit.

Secret spots: the Drake’s legacy

Beyond the official museums and spaces, Modena preserves a series of lesser-known locations that tell the story of Enzo Ferrari’s widespread presence throughout the urban fabric. These are traces that intertwine his personal history with that of the city itself.

From the murals dedicated to his likeness, such as the one created by TV Boy, to Enzo Ferrari’s Birthplace: each spot adds a different fragment to the narrative of the Prancing Horse’s founder. Alongside these are more intimate and unexpected details, like his trusted barber, which restores a more everyday dimension to his life.

Completing this journey is the Parco Enzo Ferrari, a public space named in his honor that also hosts a commemorative statue. Finally, Modena’s Cimitero Monumentale di San Cataldo is home to his grave — a place of remembrance that offers a more quiet, reflective dimension of his story. Yet, it is above all in the scattered signs and the traces spread across the city that the Drake continues to be present, reaching far beyond the landmarks formally dedicated to his memory.

Upcoming events in Modena

The Motor Valley calendar brings together the events that liven up the Modenese area throughout the year, from track competitions to events intertwining motorsport, culture, and local heritage. Among these, it is impossible not to mention the Motor Valley Fest, which every year transforms Modena into an open-air festival where the roar of engines meets the future of mobility.

Stay updated below!