Aurelia Show in Italy, and more….
Two exhibitions were recently mounted in Italy, both near Venice and in the northeastern part of Italy. One is the wonderful Aurelia exhibit at the Bonfanti Museum, in the small town of Bassano del Grappa (yes, that’s right, where they make Grappa!). The other is a very large and comprehensive show at the M.A.R.T. in Rovereto, near Verona.
Photos from these two shows, and from the Lancia collection in Turin can be seen at: photo galleries
UPDATE May 10: the viewers of the photo galleries have had the option of just viewing, downloading the image, or even purchasing a print for their own use. Due to concerns about the appropriateness of this with photographs taken in museums, the “printing option” is no longer available. Apologies for any confusion.
The Aurelia show at Bassano is due in no small measure to the work of the Aurelia Registry, and Francesco Gandolfi, who reached out to Aurelia owners in providing this museum with a good look at the broad range of Aurelia models.
There one can find anything for the Aurelia fan – the early 538 45˚ V6 motor of 1946, all the sedans, the B15 6 light car, several B20’s, including the 3rd series Rome-Liege-Rome winning car. There are two stock B24 Spider and Convertible, both in black and paired with each other, as well as the 1955 Mille Miglia entry B24 Spider.
For one-off’s, there is the B50 Cabriolet, some special B50 coupes, a sports racing car, and a lovely Vignale coupe looking quite smart in non-Lancia red.
Two favorites were the woody station wagon, full of body-workers ideas and charm in the details. Also there was an unrestored Florida, which really caught (for me) the spirit of the times – fresh, a bit wild, and yet setting up a new set of car design issues for the next decade.
Also on exhibit is a letter from Enzo Ferrari to de Virgilio about buying an Aurelia, if only in left hand drive. Long reported, but not seen before.
Its a wonderful show and many thanks to Bonfanti for setting this up and to Francesco for pulling it together. It was up through the 9th of April.
Pictures (from the top):
s.3 Rome Liege winning B20, and interior
s. 2 B20
B24 from 1955 MM
B50,
Vignale one off,
B20 with sun roof
back of Vignale
Florida prototype
late Aprilia
woody wagon on B50 chassis
one-off sports racer.
B20 coupe, 3rd series, c. 1953, winner of Rome-Liege-Rome rally, nicely restored, on show at Bonfanti Museum
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