The Castle of Wonders

The ancient walls of Mario Righini’s age-old castle in Panzano, near Modena in Emilia Romagna, Italy, is home to some of the world’s most important and historically relevant classic cars. They bear witness to his deep passion for vintage engines, which arose at a young age when he witnessed the state-imposed demolition of vehicles. Since then, Mario Righini has kept his promise to collect and keep as many historic cars and motorcycles as possible, to preserve an important piece of his country’s history.

Mario Righini in one of the courtyards of his castle with the Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo together with Enzo’s son, Piero and his great-grandson Enzo.

Righini’s story begins with his father, Giovanni, who founded a demolition company in 1939 in  Anzola Emilia, in the province of Bologna. When Italy entered the war in 1940, the Bolognese company collaborated with the State for the supply of raw materials obtained from the demolition of the vehicles destined to be scrapped. In other words, by law they used iron and metal principally for weapons, but also for trucks that transported goods and agricultural vehicles to work the land. Back then, there was no money to buy tractors. “Unfortunately, Italy’s pre-war automotive heritage suffered heavy penalties - explains Righini - and this ignited this passion within me, because when I saw the demolition of all these vehicles imposed by the State, I promised myself that I would preserve as many classic cars and motorcycles as possible, as they represent the history of engines in our country. In particular, I focused on those car brands that since disappeared, and there were many of these in Italy, as well as tractors, because Italy has always been strong in the field of craftsmanship”.