MECCA FOR ALFISTI; The Alfa Romeo Museo.(Revs)

Byline: Jan Tegler

For Ford fans, there's the Henry Ford in Dearborn. Mercedes-Benz mavens have the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Honda hounds have the Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi. And Tifosi . . . let's not speak of them.

If, on the other hand, you are an Alfa acolyte, all roads lead to Arese, Italy, and the Alfa Romeo Museo.

On Dec. 16, 2007, the museum celebrated its 31st anniversary. As its director, Pasquale Oliveri, will tell you, Alfa Romeo enthusiasts are more than mere fans.

"It's important to be an Alfista. It's like a way of thinking. Alfa is able to unite people. Language and nationality are not important.''

Uniting Alfisti and other admirers of automotive history is something the Alfa Romeo Museo does admirably. Despite its outwardly bland socialist-style building, the museum's interior is remarkably creative, displaying more than 100 Alfas on six levels. The collection begins with a 1908 8/10-hp Darracq, one of the last cars produced by the company (Societa Italiana Automobili Darracq) from which Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica di Automobili (ALFA) arose in 1910. Adjacent to it is the first ALFA, the 1910 24-hp Torpedo.

Organized chronologically, the collection moves from early production and competition ALFAs to the post-World War I racing and production models designed after Nicola Romeo took the reins of the company in 1921 and changed its name to Alfa Romeo. Each exhibit emphasizes the close links between the evolution of Alfa Romeo and Italian culture with a wealth of period photos, documentation and advertising.