Maserati’s Bologna years: where the Trident was born

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Mention Maserati and Modena will quickly spring to mind. Yet the marque’s story began some forty kilometres away, in Bologna. It was there that Alfieri Maserati and his brothers Ettore and Ernesto opened a workshop in Via de’ Pepoli in 1914. They did not yet build cars under their own name, instead developing engineering for other manufacturers, including Isotta Fraschini and Diatto. It would be another twelve years before the Maserati name appeared on the nose of a racing car.

From 22 to 25 October, Bologna will host Auto e Moto d’Epoca. Visitors to the show will therefore be coming to the city where Maserati forged its identity.

The decisive step came in 1926 with the Tipo 26: the first racing car to bear both the Maserati name and its emblem. Alfieri drove the car himself in the Targa Florio in Sicily and won his class. On its nose appeared, for the first time, the Trident that remains inseparably associated with Maserati today. His brother Mario designed the emblem, taking inspiration from Bologna’s Fountain of Neptune. That 16th-century fountain can still be admired in the Piazza del Nettuno.

The Tipo 26 was no cautious entry into the motor industry. Maserati immediately chose motor racing, where its engineering had to prove itself under the most demanding conditions. Over the following years, the company developed increasingly ambitious competition cars. From their workshop in Bologna, the brothers created a name that became known far beyond Italy.

Maserati’s Bolognese chapter ended following the company’s acquisition by the Orsi family. In 1939, Maserati began its move to Modena, where the factory on Viale Ciro Menotti opened on 1 January 1940. Maserati’s history in Modena is long and distinguished, but by then its first racing car, first class victory and famous Trident had already been created. All three came from Bologna.

This year, that history has particular relevance: exactly a century ago, the Trident appeared on a Maserati for the first time. Auto e Moto d’Epoca therefore offers an excellent opportunity not only to explore the cars at the exhibition, but also the city surrounding it. Those heading into the centre after visiting the show can pause in Via de’ Pepoli and reflect on the workshop where it all began. At the Fountain of Neptune, the inspiration for Maserati’s most famous symbol can still be seen today.

Auto e Moto d’Epoca will take place at BolognaFiere from 22 to 25 October 2026. PreWarCar.com will be exhibiting at the show, and we hope to meet you there.

Tickets can be ordered here.

Words: Laurens Klein. Source: Maserati. Photograph: Wikipedia.

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