Formula 1, participated in four Olympics as a yachtsman. Then there’s the aristocrat Felice Trossi raced cars and yachts without ever losing his “brilliant and detached self-confidence,” and the fearless, superstitious Ascari, who died the day he left the helmet he always wore at home. The history of these drivers, as well as the noble Maria Teresa de Filippis, known as Pilotino, who abandoned racing when the colleague that replaced her died in the race, is a wholly unique history of the 20th century, with changing costumes, places, fashions and faces of the enthusiasts. The third section is dedicated, naturally, to style, that of the automobiles themselves.The Concorsi d’Eleganza were a unique moment in the history of automobiles aimed at the elite classes. They served first as displays of elegance but which later became a place to present new cars and products. Florence was the city where Barsanti and Matteucci created the first internal combustion engine, patenting it in 1853, where the second automobile in Italy (1894) took to the streets and, in 1901, where the Giro d'Italia Automobilistico passed through. Here, in 1948, in the Boboli Gardens behind Palazzo Pitti, the first “Concorso d’Eleganza” for automobiles was held. Only a few years had passed since the end of World War II, and the Italian Republic was seeking the best of its heritage in order to reinvent itself with a fresh start. Florence, with its culture and beauty, a crossroads for an important international entourage, was the ideal place. The automobile, just like clothing, was a status symbol: the most beautiful cars in the world were on display in the Boboli Gardens, an emblematic place in Florentine history, precisely in the same years that the excellence of Italian fashion was being established inside Palazzo Pitti. The photos taken in the streets throughout the centre of the most exclusive models of the era by reporters from Foto Locchi portray this original display of splendours that each highlighted one another reciprocally. To accompany the exhibition, Gruppo Editoriale has produced a volume with 90 photos from the Archivio Foto Locchi on display in the show and original texts edited by Alessandro Bruni and Piero Campani, featuring an introduction by Eike Schimdt.
Formula 1, participated in four Olympics as a yachtsman. Then there’s the aristocrat Felice Trossi raced cars and yachts without ever losing his “brilliant and detached self-confidence,” and the fearless, superstitious Ascari, who died the day he left the helmet he always wore at home. The history of these drivers, as well as the noble Maria Teresa de Filippis, known as Pilotino, who abandoned racing when the colleague that replaced her died in the race, is a wholly unique history of the 20th century, with changing costumes, places, fashions and faces of the enthusiasts. The third section is dedicated, naturally, to style, that of the automobiles themselves.The Concorsi d’Eleganza were a unique moment in the history of automobiles aimed at the elite classes. They served first as displays of elegance but which later became a place to present new cars and products. Florence was the city where Barsanti and Matteucci created the first internal combustion engine, patenting it in 1853, where the second automobile in Italy (1894) took to the streets and, in 1901, where the Giro d'Italia Automobilistico passed through. Here, in 1948, in the Boboli Gardens behind Palazzo Pitti, the first “Concorso d’Eleganza” for automobiles was held. Only a few years had passed since the end of World War II, and the Italian Republic was seeking the best of its heritage in order to reinvent itself with a fresh start. Florence, with its culture and beauty, a crossroads for an important international entourage, was the ideal place. The automobile, just like clothing, was a status symbol: the most beautiful cars in the world were on display in the Boboli Gardens, an emblematic place in Florentine history, precisely in the same years that the excellence of Italian fashion was being established inside Palazzo Pitti. The photos taken in the streets throughout the centre of the most exclusive models of the era by reporters from Foto Locchi portray this original display of splendours that each highlighted one another reciprocally. To accompany the exhibition, Gruppo Editoriale has produced a volume with 90 photos from the Archivio Foto Locchi on display in the show and original texts edited by Alessandro Bruni and Piero Campani, featuring an introduction by Eike Schimdt.