In 2016, the publisher’s photographic archives were further enhanced by yet another acquisition: over 300,000 photographs of the Franco Villani collection. For many years, the noted Bologna photographer worked for the major motor sport magazines – top of the list AutoSprint - from the second half of the ‘50s until the early 2000s. He took pictures at all the Formula 1 and sports car racing events, as he did world championship motorcycling, now MotoGP. Whether at the wheel of an F1 single seater or on a motorbike, all the top motor sport champions were photographed by him during the second half of the 20th century.Villani was able to build a really special relationship with the Prancing Horse and its founder Enzo Ferrari. The photographer was one of the most frequent visitors to Maranello, where he took thousands of invaluable pictures of the Commendatore’s Formula 1, sports racing and road cars that were built in that Sancta Sanctorum which was, at the time, the Scuderia’s racing department. There is a wealth of photographs of the drivers, cars, technicians and mechanics at work in this remarkable collection. And then, naturally, there is Ferrari himself, often pictured during his daily working life like his many press conferences, which were also often used to unveil his latest road cars, his new F1 single seaters and sports racers for endurance championships.Other events Franco Villani covered included the fast Bologna-Raticosa hillclimb and the equally quick ATS Italiana, which no longer takes place. And he was always a regular at many of Maserati’s and Ferrari’s test drives at the Modena Autodrome, as well as having privileged relationships with Monza Aerautodrome and the Monte Carlo city circuit.
In Villani’s more than 50-year career, he never turned a blind eye to normal production road cars, as he photographed them at Europe’s top motor shows in Turin, Frankfurt, Paris and Geneva.But the largest part of his collection is of motorcycle pictures, both production and racing bikes. He photographed the machines of all the great manufacturers and world champions of the last century, as well as the motorcycle world championships and unforgettable races like the 200 Miles of Imola, enduro and motocross.
How to acquire the pictures. While waiting for this immense collection to go on-line, Giorgio Nada Editore now offers its clients and enthusiasts the opportunity of acquiring copies of the Vilani pictures for private, editorial or advertising use. For information and prices, contact: archiviofoto@giorgionadaeditore.it.
