Allora, a few weeks ago my girlfriend and I went on an amazing road trip through Northern Italy. Our destination along the 10-day route included La Spezia and Cinque Terre – Rosignano (beach) – Siena – Florence – Bologna – Modena – Milan with a short stop at the Stilo Headquarter close to Bergamo.
The Italian Riviera is especially known for Cinque Terre as its iconic highlight. Cinque Terre consists of five villages along the coastline – each with its own character, but all of them beautiful. Therefore, it is recommended to stay at least three or four days to experience all five villages.
The villages are connected with only a few roads, however many mountain trails through the terraced vineyards between them offer a stunning view over the coastline. We stayed in La Spezia and left our car there, since the easiest way to travel to and between the five villages is by train.
Before we started with our mountain trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola, we had a glas of the iconic Cinque Terre DOC wine as well as an authentic sandwich with a breathtaking sea view. Returning at night to La Spezia’s the dinner with pesto pasta, pizza and sea food was nothing less than spectacular thanks to recommendations from our Airbnb host.
After spending three nights in La Spezia discovering Cinque Terre we continued our journey along the coast to the Region of Tuscany with a stop at the “Spiagge Bianche” or “white beaches” in Rosignano.
Driving through the Region of Tuscany with its countless hills, idyllic vineyards and romantic old villages was an incredible experience. We had such a blast, that we definitely want to come back. There’s also no better way to experience these roads than with a sportive roadster. The road between Siena and Florence was also part of the historic Mille Miglia route.
Not only the birthplace of the Renaissance movement, but also the center of finance and trade in its heyday, Florence is known as the historical gem of Italy.
The Westin Excelsior hotel offers a stunning rooftop bar with a panoramic view, where you can enjoy cocktails and a small buffet at the end of the day.
We continued with our trip from Florence to Bologna and then to Modena. The ancient town in the Emilia-Romagna region is the heart and soul of the Italian automotive industry.
The Museo Enzo Ferrari offers a glimpse into the home of Ferrari’s founder and the roots of the company.
It encompasses the former workshop of Enzo’s father which has been meticulously restored and now houses the Museum of Ferrari Engines as well as showcasing popular road and track cars of the Italian marque.
A few hundred meters down the road is the production plant of Maserati, where we took a short look into the glamorous showroom.
It is always special to see a Maserati MC12, especially when it’s the special edition “edo MC12 VC”. It is basically a Maserati MC12 Versione Corse intended for racetrack use but in this case street-legal. This special version of the MC12 sports 755 hp from the Enzo Ferrari-derived V12 engine.
Our last stop before heading back to Germany was the Stilo Headquarter close to Bergamo. Stilo is well-known for its high-quality racing helmets with top functionality and a strong range of standard features, such as intercoms, drinking systems and more. The product portfolio includes rally, circuit, karting and offshore helmets.
The name Stilo is derived from the tool used during the Bronze Age to write and to imprint first thoughts, ideas and concepts. The word has then evolved into style and now describes the individual style each driver represents with his or her helmet.
Since my Stilo ST4-W helmet originally came without HANS clips and became a bit too tight in general, it was essential for me to get it adjusted before my first race. To put it short, the customer service was superb!
The Stilo team took time to talk with me about what pads inside the helmet would have to be adjusted for an improved fit and the factory team downstairs immediately started working on it.
After a few minor adjustments, my helmet now fits much better and almost feels like a new one – all at no extra cost!
While I was there, I also had the chance to try out the new model from the ST5 range – the Stilo ST5GT CARBON. It fits perfectly and is the most comfortable helmet, I got to wear so far. In addition to that, the new model is lighter, offers increased vision and better aerodynamics as well as an improved driver ventilation.
The new visor locking system also makes it easier to change visors and I’m looking forward to upgrade to the new ST5 model sometime in the future.
Until then,
#KEEPONRACING