10/02/2026
New Exhibit Opening Friday, October 9
Italian American Museum presents Nuvolari – Comeback New York
Immersive Exhibition Celebrates the Life and Legacy of Italy’s Legendary ‘Flying Mantuan’
NEW YORK — Ninety years ago on Columbus Day, October 12, 1936, Tazio Nuvolari electrified New York with one of the most celebrated victories of his legendary racing career. The Italian American Museum (IAM) in collaboration with the Tazio Nuvolari Museum in Mantua (Italy), will bring the extraordinary story of the “Flying Mantuan” back to life. Realized by international partner GlobalMedia, the experience combines digital technology, archival material and immersive storytelling.
“Nuvolari – Comeback New York” will be presented October 9–31, 2026, at the Museum, 151 Mulberry St., in the heart of New York’s Little Italy. The exhibition coincides with Italian History Month, a national celebration of Italian culture.
The exhibition will recreate the excitement of Nuvolari’s historic 1936 triumph at Roosevelt Raceway on Long Island while revealing the remarkable man behind the wheel. “It will be a great moment for racing fans, gearheads and the public at large,” said Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa, founder and president of the Italian American Museum. “It’s an amazing chapter in the Italian American experience, and it will be presented in spectacular fashion.”
In October 1936, the roar of an Alfa Romeo shattered the silence of Roosevelt Raceway. Behind the wheel was a slight, almost fragile looking man wearing his trademark yellow sweater and a small turtle-shaped amulet around his neck. He was Tazio Nuvolari.
While America’s racing giants competed on their home turf, Nuvolari attacked the curves of Roosevelt Raceway with extraordinary precision and daring. When he crossed the
finish line to win the Vanderbilt Cup, New York erupted—and racing history was made .
The victory also marked the first American victory for Scuderia Ferrari, whose famous Prancing Horse emblem appeared on Nuvolari’s Alfa Romeo. Now, 90 years later, his story returns to New York. “It will not just be an exhibition. We will bring Tazio’s spirit and his life as they have never been known before,” said Fabio Castagna, curator and head of the Digital Bank of the Tazio Nuvolari Museum in Mantua, Italy. “We will transform memory into a sensory experience that will bring the Italian American Museum of New York and our Museum in Mantua together in one great transatlantic embrace—a bond of blood, history and innovation.” Rather than a traditional display of memorabilia, “Nuvolari – Comeback New York” will invite visitors to step inside the story. Historic photographs, films and archival material will provide gateways to a deeper experience, while QR codes will connect visitors to a multilingual audio guide featuring stories, testimony and exclusive content. Through interactive technology (Augmented Reality), visitors will also encounter a life-size representation of the 1936 Alfa Romeo that carried Nuvolari to his New York triumph—creating an opportunity to step into the historic moment and photograph themselves alongside the legendary machine. But Nuvolari’s story is about much more than speed.
The exhibition will introduce visitors to the man behind the champion: a curious, restless and remarkably inventive Italian whose talents extended far beyond the racetrack. He was an
accomplished photographer who immersed himself in the technical secrets of the camera, an avant-garde designer and an inventor whose imagination matched the daring that made him one of the world’s most fearless racers. He could race motorcycles in the morning and win an automobile race in the afternoon. Repeatedly, he pushed himself, and technology, to the limit. That combination of resilience, creativity, courage and reinvention makes Nuvolari a powerful symbol of the Italian American experience. “At its heart, ‘Nuvolari – Comeback New York’ is a story about the powerful connection between Italy and America,” Dr. Scelsa said. “Nuvolari arrived in New York in 1936 as a celebrated European champion. He left behind something more enduring: a legend that crossed the Atlantic and became part of America’s own racing history.” This time, visitors will not simply see the photographs, watch the films or read about the victories. They will step into the story of Tazio Nuvolari.
