Enzo Ferrari Museum, Modena

The Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena occupies a striking building designed by British architect Jan Kaplický of Future Systems, whose death in 2009 meant he never saw its completion. The museum opened in 2012 on the site of the garage and house where Enzo Ferrari was born in 1898 and where his father operated a modest metalworking shop that fuelled young Enzo's passion for engineering. The original early-20th-century house, in yellow render and red roof tiles, stands intact as a focal exhibit inside the museum complex, creating a striking juxtaposition with the modern aluminium wave structure that shelters it. The yellow undulating roof — aluminium panels recalling the yellow of the Modena city crest — is the building's defining visual element and makes the museum instantly recognisable on Largo Garibaldi in the city centre. Inside, the permanent collection covers Italian automotive design and racing history with an emphasis on Ferrari's development as a brand. Rotating exhibitions, which change every few months, have featured rare Ferraris, Maseratis, and Italian coachbuilding masterpieces from the 1950s to the 1980s. The birth house contains personal artefacts, early photographs, and documentation of Enzo Ferrari's life from childhood through his years as a racing driver and constructor. Combined tickets with the Museo Ferrari in Maranello (35 km south) are available and represent good value. The museum is a 10-minute walk from Modena's UNESCO-listed Cathedral and Piazza Grande, making it easy to combine both sites in one morning. Visitor numbers are generally lower here than at Maranello even on weekends, and queues rarely exceed 15 minutes.