A stunning new museum complex, Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari, has been built to celebrate the life of Enzo Ferrari. It will open on 10 March. The first exhibition to be held there, on the site of Enzo’s 1898 birth, will – fittingly – be called ‘The Origins of the Myth’.

The exhibition majors on the cars and events that shaped the life of the driver and constructor, and there is a permanent multimedia display that retraces the important events in Ferrari’s life. He believed that ‘If you can dream it, you can do it’, and Ferrari saw the car as a work of art.

As if to prove that point, the cars themselves will take pride of place in the new gallery, on loan from the most prestigious collections and museums and exhibited as works of art. They will be surrounded by showcases containing historical documents, objects and memorabilia, together with original audio-visual footage taken in the Emilia-Romagna region.

The new building was designed by Future Systems of London, after the company won a competition held between four Italian and four international agencies. The new complex was prompted by the restoration of the house in which Enzo Ferrari was born, and is purposely striking in its yellow finish – the same colour that features in Modena’s city shield, and has always been used in the background of the Cavallino Rampante badge that adorned all Ferrari road cars. Covering a total 54,000sq ft in area and with conference facilities plus a small cinema, a themed shop and coffee bar, the new museum project cost in excess of €20m. The cost was met thanks to sponsorship from Modena City Council, the Provincial Administration of Modena, the Modena Chamber of Commerce, Ferrari SpA and the Italian Automobile Club.

The museum is located close to the historic city centre of Modena as well as the Maserati factory, in the area outside the city walls. It’s this area where Modena’s transformation into today’s large industrial city began, with Enzo at the forefront.

Mauro Tedeschini, president of the Fondazione Casa di Enzo Ferrari, said: ‘It is with great satisfaction and enthusiasm that, after years of intense work by the Fondazione Casa di Enzo Ferrari, we are on the point of inaugurating this important cultural asset, that will tell the world the story of this great figure and the vocation for motoring of this area.’

The museum will be open 363 days a year. For details, visit www.fondazionecasanataleenzoferrari.it.