In 2018, Italy with the Nicolis Museum triumphs in London winning "The Historic MOTORING AWARDS 2018" in the "Museum of the Year" category.
It is not a traditional museum, but rather a spectacular and modern container of culture and ideas. It is called “Museo Nicolis dell’Auto, della Tecnica, della Meccanica“ (Nicolis Museum, the Cars, the Technique and Mechanics), inaugurated in 2000 in Villafranca di Verona, it was created by Luciano Nicolis, a Veronese entrepreneur, founder of the Lamacart Group, which brought together his great passion for the technique and the mechanics, in this operation.
It is one of the most prestigious private museums in Italy and in Europe. Open to various forms of innovation and experimentation, it is a lively promoter of culture and a point of attraction for the entire territory. Managed with managerial criteria, it is recognized as an effective and concrete example of Museum-Enterprise, that is, an unconventional cultural institution that promotes knowledge and innovation without losing sight of growth and development objectives.
The museum tells, through hundreds of cars, motorcycles and bicycles, the evolution of the means of transport of the last two centuries. But there is much more in this Museum-not-Museum: cameras and writing-machine, musical instruments, objects that can not be found somewhere else.
The "numbers" of the 7 collections are important: about 200 vintage cars, 120 bicycles, 105 motorcycles, 500 cameras, 120 musical instruments, 100 typewriters, small aircraft, a rare collection of about 100 Formula 1 steering wheels and hundreds of human works of art are exhibited according to historical and stylistic paths; the exhibition area is flanked by the Congress Center, the Space of Ideas, the Tourist Activities, the Historical Archive, the Didactic Section, the Library and a Bookshop among the best-equipped on the world of motors.
It is no coincidence that the Museo Nicolis represents a "unique case" of its kind and is indicated as emblematic of modern corporate culture.
Visitors to the Museum can admire, among others, the "Motrice Pia" the first petrol engine patented by the Veronese Enrico Bernardi in 1882, the Isotta Fraschini of 1929 (Viale del Tramonto, the Tsar Alexander, Rudolph Valentino, Isadora Duncan...), the Lancia Astura 1000 Miglia, unique in the world built specifically for Luigi Villoresi, and the legendary Vanderbilt Cup. The prestigious automotive trophy won by Nuvolari in 1936, created by Cartier for billionaire George Vanderbilt.
