Turin is the Italian capital of the automotive industry. The National “Car” Museum – Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile, or just Mauto – let you experience the history of car design in Italy.
Turin: house of FIAT
Turin played an important role in the history of the Italian cars.
FIAT – Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino – has been the brand which shaped Italy after WWII: the iconic “Cinquecento” – the 500 – became the car which everybody could buy, a symbol of the post – war economic boom.
Meanwhile other brands were reaching the status of worldwide icons for the quality and the beauty of their cars, literally forging myths such as Ferrari or Lamborghini.
Well: if you love Italian cars, Mauto – Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile – is your Uffizi or Sistine Chapel!
The Mauto collection includes hundreds of car models, spanning from the “father” of the modern car – the Cugnot Steamer, the first self-propelled vehicle made in 1769 – to ultra-modern concept cars.
The exhibition of tens of cars, again spanning from the origins of the vehicle to nowadays, is simply amazing, while temporary exhibitions bring to Turin even more special cars from movies or other museums.
An intriguing section of the museum is the “Cars & Design” one, which gives a deeper look at the relationship between beauty and functionality of the vehicles.
Mauto is not only a place for cars aficionados: special projects and temporary exhibitions target families and children giving an educational approach as well, highlighting topics such as road safety and environmental sustainability, or the connections between cars and arts or music.
Mauto is also a perfect location for events and a congress center.
An important area is the “Autorino” one, completely dedicated to the relationship between the car industry and the city of Turin.
Another Mauto’s treasure is its library and archive, with six thousand volumes and tens of thousands items including pictures, magazines, advertising…
From cars to parks…
Mauto is not far from the Po River and almost in the city center.
It can be reached by train (Torino Lingotto Station) and is not far from the Le Vallere and Boschetto city parks.