“Tazio Nuvolari el conductor de la emoción”. On Display in Barcelona
Tazio Nuvolari el conductor de la emoción – ”Tazio Nuvolari: Driver of Emotion” – is the title of the exhibition opening today and running until 18 October at the Casa degli Italiani in Barcelona, in collaboration with Scuderia Nuvolari Italia. A true campionissimo on both two and four wheels, Nuvolari conquered the roads and circuits of three continents during a career spanning three decades – from the 1920s to the 1940s – securing his place in motor-racing history and in the popular imagination. The Barcelona exhibition shines a light on a lesser-known side of Nuvolari: his passion for photography. On view is a selection of 300 images from an archive of over 2,500 photographs taken by Nuvolari himself, catalogued, digitised, and first exhibited in Mantua in 2009. Shot mainly between 1936 and the early years of the Second World War with a Zeiss Contax II 24×36 mm camera, these photographs reveal the Mantuan driver’s remarkable technical skill and keen curiosity. They take us on a journey through his public and private life: his family, friends, travels, and of course the racing world – seen not through the eyes of a star, but through the lens of a reporter.
The Barcelona exhibition pays tribute not only to Nuvolari the photographer, but also to Nuvolari the driver, with photographs recording his triumphs on both car and motorcycle circuits, with a special emphasis on his ties to Barcelona and Catalonia. The Grand Prix organised by Penya Rhin in Vilafranca in 1923 marked Nuvolari’s international debut at the wheel of a Chiribiri. Unknown at the time and with no results of note, he nonetheless left a strong impression on the Barcelona public. A decade later Nuvolari returned as a champion to the Penya Rhin Grands Prix at Montjuïc from 1933 to 1936, the year he achieved one of his finest victories at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Scuderia Ferrari, fitted with Pirelli Stella Bianca tyres.
At the heart of this section of the exhibition is an original Stella Bianca tyre from the 1930s, which – together with materials from the Pirelli Historical Archive – bears witness to the close bond between Nuvolari and Pirelli. Captured by Federico Patellani, the Mantua-born champion was chosen for the cover of the very first issue of Pirelli magazine, which also carried an article about him by Orio Vergani. In 1954, a year after Nuvolari’s death, Vergani wrote a moving tribute in the magazine.
A striking photograph from Documents on the History of Pirelli industries shows the Ferrari team at the European Hill Climb Championships on 29 June 1930: in the foreground we see Luigi Arcangeli, Tazio Nuvolari and Enzo Ferrari sitting on an Alfa Romeo P2, also fitted with Stella Bianca tyres. The Alfa Romeo–Pirelli partnership, which came about as soon as the “Quadrifoglio” was born, reached its height in the 1930s thanks in part to the creation of Scuderia Ferrari. This ushered in an era of great victories – led above all by Nuvolari, from the Mille Miglia (1930) to the Targa Florio (1930 and 1932), and the Grands Prix of Monaco, France, Italy (1932) and Germany (1935). This bond with Ferrari can also be seen in other photographs from our Archive: the Scuderia Ferrari luncheon in 1930, the group portrait with the cyclist Costante Girardengo, and the image of Nuvolari, Ferrari and Mario Umberto Borzacchini holding out their hands in a pledge of loyalty to Scuderia Ferrari on 22 January 1933. This authentic album of memories retraces the extraordinary personal and sporting life of one of the greatest champions of all time.
Tazio Nuvolari el conductor de la emoción – ”Tazio Nuvolari: Driver of Emotion” – is the title of the exhibition opening today and running until 18 October at the Casa degli Italiani in Barcelona, in collaboration with Scuderia Nuvolari Italia. A true campionissimo on both two and four wheels, Nuvolari conquered the roads and circuits of three continents during a career spanning three decades – from the 1920s to the 1940s – securing his place in motor-racing history and in the popular imagination. The Barcelona exhibition shines a light on a lesser-known side of Nuvolari: his passion for photography. On view is a selection of 300 images from an archive of over 2,500 photographs taken by Nuvolari himself, catalogued, digitised, and first exhibited in Mantua in 2009. Shot mainly between 1936 and the early years of the Second World War with a Zeiss Contax II 24×36 mm camera, these photographs reveal the Mantuan driver’s remarkable technical skill and keen curiosity. They take us on a journey through his public and private life: his family, friends, travels, and of course the racing world – seen not through the eyes of a star, but through the lens of a reporter.
The Barcelona exhibition pays tribute not only to Nuvolari the photographer, but also to Nuvolari the driver, with photographs recording his triumphs on both car and motorcycle circuits, with a special emphasis on his ties to Barcelona and Catalonia. The Grand Prix organised by Penya Rhin in Vilafranca in 1923 marked Nuvolari’s international debut at the wheel of a Chiribiri. Unknown at the time and with no results of note, he nonetheless left a strong impression on the Barcelona public. A decade later Nuvolari returned as a champion to the Penya Rhin Grands Prix at Montjuïc from 1933 to 1936, the year he achieved one of his finest victories at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Scuderia Ferrari, fitted with Pirelli Stella Bianca tyres.
At the heart of this section of the exhibition is an original Stella Bianca tyre from the 1930s, which – together with materials from the Pirelli Historical Archive – bears witness to the close bond between Nuvolari and Pirelli. Captured by Federico Patellani, the Mantua-born champion was chosen for the cover of the very first issue of Pirelli magazine, which also carried an article about him by Orio Vergani. In 1954, a year after Nuvolari’s death, Vergani wrote a moving tribute in the magazine.
A striking photograph from Documents on the History of Pirelli industries shows the Ferrari team at the European Hill Climb Championships on 29 June 1930: in the foreground we see Luigi Arcangeli, Tazio Nuvolari and Enzo Ferrari sitting on an Alfa Romeo P2, also fitted with Stella Bianca tyres. The Alfa Romeo–Pirelli partnership, which came about as soon as the “Quadrifoglio” was born, reached its height in the 1930s thanks in part to the creation of Scuderia Ferrari. This ushered in an era of great victories – led above all by Nuvolari, from the Mille Miglia (1930) to the Targa Florio (1930 and 1932), and the Grands Prix of Monaco, France, Italy (1932) and Germany (1935). This bond with Ferrari can also be seen in other photographs from our Archive: the Scuderia Ferrari luncheon in 1930, the group portrait with the cyclist Costante Girardengo, and the image of Nuvolari, Ferrari and Mario Umberto Borzacchini holding out their hands in a pledge of loyalty to Scuderia Ferrari on 22 January 1933. This authentic album of memories retraces the extraordinary personal and sporting life of one of the greatest champions of all time.
