MAUTO – National Automobile Museum

The MAUTO, the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile, is one of the oldest and most prestigious car museums in the world, fitting for Turin, the historic capital of the Italian motor industry and the birthplace of Fiat. Founded in 1932 and reborn in 2011 in a striking redesigned building beside the Po in the south of the city, it tells the story of the automobile through a collection of around two hundred original vehicles from more than eighty makers. The exhibition is arranged as a journey on three levels, beginning with the dawn of the motor age and the earliest steam and petrol carriages, moving through the elegant pioneers, the rise of mass production and the great racing cars, and on to design, the relationship between the car and society, and questions of the future of mobility. Highlights include early Fiats and Lancias, vintage Bugattis, Isotta Fraschinis and Alfa Romeos, Formula One and record-breaking racers, and dramatic theatrical staging that places the cars in evocative settings rather than plain rows. The museum also holds an important automotive documentation centre and library. A visit typically takes around two hours, longer for enthusiasts. The galleries are quietest on weekday mornings and busier at weekends and during special events. Photography without flash is generally allowed. Located on Corso Unità d'Italia south of the centre near the river, the MAUTO is reached by metro to Lingotto followed by a bus, or by tram, and pairs naturally with the nearby Lingotto and Pinacoteca Agnelli. For anyone interested in design, engineering or the industrial history of Piedmont, it is among Turin's most rewarding museums.