Maranello
Maranello is a town in Modena Province, 18 km south of Modena city in northern Italy. It's best known as the home of Ferrari motors and their racing team, and in 2017 had a population of 17,500.
Maranello is close to two other large towns, which it's convenient also to describe here: Formagine (population 31,640) with a medieval castle, and Sassuolo (population 40,270) with the Ducal Palace.
Get in
Maranello doesn't have a railway service. SETA Bus 185 runs hourly from Modena to Formigine, the Ferrari Museum (30 min) and 1 Maranello bus station east side of town.
Regional trains run once or twice an hour from Modena to 2 Formigine (25 min), and normally continue to Sassuolo but are curtailed in 2021.
They run hourly from Reggio Emilia to 3 Sassuolo Radici station (40 min).
Get around
The three towns sprawl out, but their main sights are central and within walking distance.
SETA Bus 640 plies every 30 min from Sassuolo to Fiorano, Spezzano and Maranello (25 min), and occasionally continues to Pozza and Vignola.
Most buses between Modena and Sassuolo run via Corlo, with only an occasional run via Formigine. See above for the Modena-Formigine-Maranello route.
See
- 1 Museo Ferrari, Via Dino Ferrari 43, Maranello, ☏ +39 0536 949713, museo@ferrari.com. Daily Nov-Mar 09:30-18:00, Apr-Oct 09:30-19:00. Adult €17, conc €15, child €7.
- You can also see part of the Fiorano test circuit from the road into town. If there is testing going on, expect to see a cluster of tifosi - Ferrari fans.
- 2 Chiesa di San Biagio (Church of St Blaise), Via Abatone Inferiore 37, Maranello. The earliest documented church was in 1375, using parts of the castle. The present church was completed in 1903 in neo-Gothic style, with the belltower added over the next decade.
- 3 Castello di Spezzano, Via di Castello 12, Maranello. Mar-Nov Sa Su 15:00-18:00. This 11th century castle has a frescoed gallery with scenes of battles fought by Duke Alfonso I d'Este (1527-1531). On the lower floor is a hall with mid-16th century landscapes commissioned by Marco III Pio. A pentagonal tower once housed a prison and is now a vinegar store. The castle now hosts a ceramics museum.
- 4 Castello di Formigine, Piazza Calcagnini d'Este, Formigine, ☏ +39 059 416145 244, castello@comune.formigine.mo.it. Sa Su 10:00-13:00, 15:00-19:00. Buit in 1201 but destroyed, so the present castle is from about 1400. It was owned by the Calcagnini family from 1648 until 1946, when it became city council offices. From 1998 it was restored, re-opening as a museum in 2007.
- 5 Palazzo Ducale, Piazzale della Rosa, Sassuolo, ☏ +39 536 184 4801, urp@comune.sassuolo.mo.it. M 15:00-19:00, Tu W 11:00-19:00, Sa Su 10:00-19:00. The Ducal Palace was designed by Bartolomeo Avanzini in 1634. In 1638–56 the interior was frescoed by the French Baroque painter Jean Boulanger and others. At ground level is a large pool surrounded by ruins, "il Fontanazzo". Adult €6, conc or child €2.
- Chiesa di San Giorgio, Piazza Grande, Sassuolo (opposite Ducal Palace). Sassuolo's principal church, first known from 1318, but redecorated by Jean Boulanger and others from 1646.
- Chiesa di San Francesco in Rocca, Piazzale della Rosa, Sassuolo (next to Ducal Palace), ☏ +39 0536 881302. Sa-Th 10:00-12:00, F 10:00-12:00 13:00-16:00. Built in 1650, this was the Este family chapel, linked by a secret passageway to the Palace.
- 6 Cimitero Monumentale di San Prospero in Sassuolo is at the junction with Viale della Pace. Created in 1630, it's full of exuberant funerary art, especially for the Strucchi, Rubbiani and Marazzi families. It's no longer in use.
- 7 Castello di Montegibbio, Via Cà del Chierico, 41049 Sassuolo. The castle was built in 920 and destroyed in 1325 and 1501, but rebuilt in 1636.
Do
- Football: US Sassuolo Calcio play soccer in Serie A, Italy's top tier. But since 2013 their home ground is Mapei Stadium, capacity 21,500, two km north of Reggio Emilia city centre. Remarkably it has a moat surrounding the pitch: fans have been known to fish in it during dull matches. The stadium is shared with the local team AC Reggiana, who languish in Serie C and whose noses were put out of joint by the ground-share. Sassuolo Calcio still own the Enzo Ricci stadium in Sassuolo, but it's tiny and nowadays only used as training pitch.
Buy
- Lots of Ferrari merchandise in Maranello, the official Ferrari Store is at Via Abetone Inferiore 19.
Eat
- Maranello has the Ferrari-themed Beer Stop and Terra dei Motori pub / restaurant next to the motor museum.
- Others in town centre include Segreto di Pulcinella, Sakura, Retro Gusto[dead link], Caffe dell'Orologio and Mikele.
- Formigine has Sushi Miyako, Vecchio Modena, Regina Margherite[dead link], Enoteca Romana, Babi's, Aquila Bianca, and La Cantinetta San Pietro 7.
- Sassuolo has Pavlot[dead link], Zona Merci, Arashi, and lots of pizzerias and Chinese.
Drink
- Maranello pubs include Bar Concerto in town centre, and James Cafe, Bar Maranello Gallery and Driver Bar by the Ferrari museum.
- Formagine pubs include Bar Cacciatori, Bar Pick 80, Bar Centrale, Happy Bar and Andrew's.
- Sassuolo pubs include Salotto Regina, Sunrise, Jimbar and Bar Guglia.
- Sassolino is an anise-flavoured liqueur made in Sassuolo.
Sleep
- Maranello has Planet Hotel, Villa Maranello and Maranello Palace.
- Sassuolo has Hotel Michelangelo, and Casale Verde at its north edge.
- Formigine has Fenice Hotel, and there's another cluster north at Baggiovara on the outskirts of Modena.
- Far more choice in Modena itself.
Connect
As of May 2021, the three towns have 4G from all Italian carriers. You might get 5G from Wind Tre in Maranello.
Go next
- Using public transport means returning to Modena. You're then on the main route southeast to Bologna and Rimini, or northwest to Parma, Piacenza and Milan.
- By car you can head into the mountains and national park, eventually descending into Tuscany via Lucca to Pisa or Pistoia to Florence.