Gli Scultori della Velocità e il Sogno di Leonardo da Vinci
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We all revere the great car designers of the 1950s and ‘60s, creators of the now iconic SWB Ferraris, the Bizzarrinis, OSCAs, Abarths and Alfas of those days, but what about the people who brought these designs into the real world and made them into real cars.
Following in the tradition of the ceremonial armourers, skilled craftsmen who turned metal into three-dimensional objects, the metal workers in and around Bologna, who became known as the Battilastra Masters are celebrated in a special exhibition in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, one of Florence’s great historic buildings, until the end of June.
The Sculptors of Speed and the Dream of Leonardo da Vinci exhibition begins with a Renaissance suit of armour recalling the artistry of the Florentine metal workers of the 15th century, together with Leonardo’s self-propelled cart and the first Barsanti and Matteucci internal combustion engine, linking these master coachbuilders to a long line of craftsmen artists.
Perhaps the reference to the great da Vinci is a little over the top, but the exhibition illustrates the technique that emerged after the war, uniting art and craftsmanship using the “filoni technique.” This introduced the use of lightweight welded iron rods to create some of the most beautiful and memorable shapes in automotive history, beginning with the Ferraris that established the myth of Maranello. Celebrating masters such as Afro Gibellini, Giancarlo Guerra, Fernando Baccarini and Oriello Leonardi, who worked for carrozzerie such as Scaglietti and Fantuzzi and are now recognised as craftsmen and artists in their own right rather than anonymous workshop staff, the exhibition is open from 9am to 7pm daily except Wednesdays. If you are in Tuscany in June, make your way to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Via Cavour 5, Florence.
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