Ferrari: rent your favourite model and set off to discover Modena and Maranello, where this legendary car manufacturer began.

When you say "sports cars", you think "Ferrari", don't you? It is inevitable, it happens to everyone. There are no luxury cars in the world as well known and loved as the legendary red ones.

As for Italians, the numerous surveys carried out also confirm this fact, such as the one carried out by the Surveyeah observatory, which took into consideration a sample of 3,000 people, 54% women and 46% men, and asked what they thought was the most beautiful car over the various decades of the twentieth century, from the 1940s to today. Their answer was unanimous: Ferrari.

Luxury cars with the emblem of the "prancing horse" are considered true icons of style, elegance and luxury and, of course, sportiness. By the way, do you know why the official Ferrari symbol is a prancing horse? The story is as simple as it is fascinating and it was the founder of the car manufacturer - the legendary Enzo Ferrari - who told it in a letter, where he wrote that "[...] the little horse was painted on the fuselage of Francesco Baracca's fighter, the heroic aviator who fell on Montello, the ace of aces from the First World War. When I won the first Savio circuit in 1923, which took place in Ravenna, I met the hero's father, count Enrico Baracca; that meeting led to the following one with his mother, Countess Paolina. And one day, she told me: Ferrari, put my son's prancing horse symbol on your cars. It will bring you luck". There can be no mistake that Countess Pauline turned out to be a perfect Cassandra, the priestess of Greek mythology endowed with the gift of foresight!

The car manufacturer was founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1947 in Maranello (Modena) and we are going to drive you through those two cities today. It will be your favourite car: rent a Ferrari F8 Tributo, or a Ferrari 812 Superfast or even a Ferrari 488 spider from Italian Luxury Car Hire and head straight to where the dream began!

10 things to see in Modena: the unmissable places.

In the heart of Emilia Romagna, still off the busiest tourist routes, there is a jewel rich in a respectable artistic and cultural heritage: the city of Modena.

Beautiful, dynamic, with an unrivalled regional cuisine, Modena has a history with deep roots, which delve into the 6th century BC with the creation of an Etruscan city, although earlier settlements date back to prehistoric times.

Visiting Modena means diving into history and for this reason, we would like to show you what is the real flagship of the Italian economy, an ancient university and bishop's seat, as well as the "tile capital of the world":

Here is our list of 10 places in Modena to see (and to watch carefully):

• The Piazza Grande and the Palazzo Comunale (Municipal building)
• The Duomo and the Ghirlandina (probably the most beautiful bell tower in the world)
• The MEF (Enzo Ferrari Home Museum)
• The Palazzo Ducale
• Forum Boarium
• The Pavarotti Municipal Theatre
• The Municipal Vinegar Factor
• The Estense Gallery
• The Stickers Museum (remember the legendary Panini stickers?)
• Rossena Castle (located near Modena)

We will not reveal anything else, in order not to spoil the surprise: we will just tell you that a part of these places to see in Modena in its historic centre - namely the Cathedral, the Torre della Ghirlandina and the entire Piazza Grande - were included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997.

Museo Ferrari Maranello: a sticker for your souvenir album.

After Modena, you simply must visit the Municipality of Maranello, especially for fans of red wines. But not just that, because this town of slightly over 17,000 inhabitants has a lot to offer from a tourist and cultural point of view: the Church of San Biagio, the Wind Tunnel designed by Renzo Piano - this is where the Ferraris are tested, on a moving belt synchronised with the wind speed; the real tests are carried out in the nearby Fiorano circuit - the Prancing Horse Monument - a sculpture donated in 2003 to the Municipality of Maranello by the Albanian sculptor Helidon Xhixha - the Castle and the Mabic Library.

Undoubtedly, the city’s main attraction is the Ferrari Maranello Museum, one of the most important in the world, which welcomes almost 350,000 visitors every year. The total surface is 2,500 square metres where not only Ferrari road and racing cars are exhibited, but also prizes, photographs and other objects relating to the history of Italian motoring. We deliberately refrain from adding other details, because - as the Drake of Maranello argued, one of the epithets with whom Enzo Ferrari was called - "you cannot describe passion, you can only live it".

For other useful information - timetables, entrance ticket prices etc. - check out the Enzo Ferrari Maranello Museum's official website, by clicking here.