Revs Institute’s archives make a splash in Italy
Collaboration with Italian institutions receives recognition
Revs Institute, home to one of the preeminent automotive archives in the world, recently collaborated on a multi-venue exhibition featuring the Rodolfo Mailander Photograph Collection, which Revs acquired in 2011. Mailander’s photographs captured Italian motorsport in the 1950s, documenting a crucial turning point in the economy and culture of the Italian people. This was especially apparent in his photographs of the Mille Miglia, and these served as the basis for the exhibition, called “1000 Miglia by Mailander.”
The project was the brainchild of Monica Mailander Macaluso, the daughter of the late photographer and President of the Fondazione Gino Macaluso per l’Auto Storica.
In addition to providing images, Revs Institute was invited to collaborate on the curation of the exhibition, which ran at multiple institutions across Italy, May to October 2024. This included the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile (MAUTO), Museo Mille Miglia, Museo Nicolis, and Museo Fratelli Cozzi. Attendance at participating museums tallied at over 144,000 during the exhibition’s run. “1000 Miglia by Mailander” introduced the Italian public to the importance of Mailander’s work and Revs Institute’s role in preserving it for the future. In the exhibition’s materials, visitors could learn not only about Revs Institute’s mission but could even follow a QR code to view the entire Mailander collection on Revs Digital Library.
The success of the exhibition was featured in dozens of Italian-language media outlets, putting Revs Institute in front of a new European audience. After wrapping up the official exhibition, Fondazione Gino Macaluso gathered materials for a booth at the 2024 Auto e Moto d’Epoca in Bologna, the largest vintage vehicle show in Europe. Historic car enthusiasts from across the continent were thereby introduced to Mailander’s oeuvre and Revs Institute’s mission to preserve automobile heritage.
To cap off the incredible weekend in Bologna, ACI Storico bestowed an award for excellence on the exhibition. Representatives from Fondazione Gino Macaluso and participating institutions were in attendance to thank ACI and ACI Storico for the honor, as well as to promote continued collaborations among institutions devoted to automobile heritage.