Concorso News
Valentino Balboni Award
Each year we present the Valentino Balboni Award to the most deserving owner of a Lamborghini. Valentino Balboni will personally select the Lamborghini present that most strikes his heart and brings a smile to his face. Every year we have an artist in Italy create something that speaks to them about the Raging Bull, and the gentleman who seems forever synonymous with Sant’Agata. Over the years the artists have created paintings, sculptures, and ironwork. Their art, as with the Lamborghinis, knows no limits.
This year’s award, created by Valentina Fiorillo, is quite special. This being the 60th anniversary of Lamborghini, we would say that she has so wonderfully captured the heart and spirit of Sg. Balboni. We would tell you more about Valentina, but we cannot improve upon her own brief autobiography:
Biography of Ms Fiorillo
My name is Valentina and I define myself as a romantic realistic painter. I was born in Puglia in 1986 and have lived near Modena since 1998. I entered the art world in 2018, starting to participate in both virtual and live exhibitions. I am a self-taught artist. Drawing, painting and creating have always been activities that arise from a natural disposition for me, recreating what I see and feel with extreme fluency.
Precisely for this reason, as a girl, I chose to take a diploma that was different from these activities, therefore not attending schools or fine arts courses, but schools that allowed me to learn something new. After a few years in the working world, finding more time to paint and encouraged by my husband and friends, I started making art a profession.
I also work through commissions, so you can contact me at [email protected] or on my mobile phone at +39 3384912866.
I paint with acrylics on canvas or even graphite on paper, as you can see from the works on my website www.valentina-art.it.
Be sure to join us in August and register your Lamborghini treasure to qualify for the Valentino Balboni award and potentially be in the Lamborghini 60th anniversary celebration Centerpiece Display!
Monica Zanetti in the Hall of Fame of 2023 Concorso Italiano
Monica Zanetti, also known as “Lady F40”, made history in the automotive industry as the first female mechanic and coachbuilder to join the Ferrari team. Not only was she the first, but she was also the only woman among the four mechanics who had the honor of personally taking care of the legendary F40, particularly the first 300 units. Her pioneering contribution opened new avenues in the automotive world and continues today with her work at the Scuderia Belle Epoque. Scuderia Belle Epoque, a vintage car and Formula One restoration workshop, just a few kilometers from the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello.
Monica Zanetti, along with Belle Epoque colleagues Pietro Corradini and Rossana Guicciardi, will be present at Concorso Italiano. Also joining Monica will be entrepreneur Pietro Ferrari, partner of Belle Epoque, and present as Pavilion Sponsor.
Following the announcement that we are inducting Monica Zanetti into the Hall of Fame, she replied: “It is a great honor for me to receive this recognition from Concorso Italiano, an event that I have admired for years and that I will finally have the opportunity to experience as a protagonist. I thank the Chairman Tom McDowell and Raffaello Porro for thinking of me.”
As a special treat for Concorso enthusiasts and art enthusiasts, the painter Alessandro Rasponi will also participate with Belle Epoque, bringing one of his collections on display and painting live on site. Born in 1978 in Modena, Rasponi learned the art and passion for painting from his father Giulio. After graduating from the Art Institute of Modena, life led him to decide to specialize in portraying engines and motorsport.
Since then, he has been looking for “that unique splash of color that can give the right impression of a car going at great speed.” His works are exhibited in museums such as the Ferrari Museum in Maranello and the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum near Bologna. Among others, Charles Leclerc (F1 driver), Sergio Scaglietti (automotive designer), Gregorio Paltrinieri (Olympic swimmer), Nicoletta Mantovani (ex-wife of Luciano Pavarotti), Joanna Villeneuve (widow of Gilles Villeneuve) and Piero Ferrari (Scuderia Ferrari) boast his works in their private collections.
The thirty-eighth edition of the Concorso Italiano will be held on August 19, 2023 at the Bayonet Black Horse Golf Club in Seaside, California. We invite you to join the celebration of all things Italian, including the induction of Monica Zanetti into the Concorso Italiano Hall of Fame.
For details, go to concorso.com