Italy – Discovering the historical museum of the trot near Civitanova Marche

Among the beautiful hills of the Marche region, in the Asola valley , situated in the field of the “San Marone” trotting horses breeding, the Historical Museum of the Trotting has been running for several years, in which national media (RAI, La Stampa , Il Giornale , Il Resto del Carlino , Corriere Adriaico , L’Unità , Esquire & Derby , etc.) and local newspapers have been widely interested. This structure has found its seat in the stables of the breeding, which today are perfectly restored and enhanced by the proximity of the race track of the Civitanova Marche trotting hippodrome . There are a lot of places to visit: it is possible to admire vintage posters, flags of the 19th century, vehicles (including a splendid “Padovanella”, forerunner of the racing sulky), relics of historical figures of horse racing and retrace the exploits of unforgettable champions such as Tornese and Varenne; the documentary material has been divided by geographical areas, so you can relive the development over time of trotting races throughout the Italian territory… a real itinerary in the history of our customs. The museum also houses a rich horse library which, in addition to official publications (yearbooks, racing bulletins, etc.), collects volumes from every nation, from the 16th century to nowadays, concerning the world of horses, ranging from veterinary medicine to farriery, which is the ancient art of horse shoeing, from trot to gallop, from fiction to art history; a photo library , which includes more than 30,000 original photographs of the great champions of the trot and gallop; a newspaper library with collections of specialized sports and horse racing magazines from the 19th and 20th centuries, Italian and non-Italian. There is also a large space thought to paintings and graphics dedicated to the horse: splendid and refined American and English prints alternate with other more popular and curious ones. The documentary collection deserves a separate mention relating to the “attacked horse”, protagonist of the ancient stagecoaches and the former postal service: it is possible to reconstruct this vanished world through the examination of regulations, notices, travel booklets of postillions (comparable to current licenses ), passports, tickets and reservations, road maps, timetables, travel books. So far, a certainly less in-depth review than the highly original material on display, to be discovered, would have deserved. This is the material that gives life to the activities that are carried out within this museum: setting up exhibition stands for the trade association and horse racing bodies in Italy and abroad, collaboration with specialized magazines and newspapers through articles, supply of photographic material and publications of numerous entities regarding sporting and non-sporting horses. In fact, what has always animated this particular structure is the love for the horse and the equestrian culture and this passion is tangible through the many volumes published by the Historical Museum of the Trot, which look at the world of this splendid and faithful animal from multiple aspects, from the artistic, to the poetic and finally to the sporting one. In this regard, the Museum has published two interesting and unique volumes, entitled Cronistoria del Trotto and Cronistoria del Trotto, I Vincitori , in which the history of the Italian trot from its rise to the end of the last century has been reconstructed: a meticulous work that fills the gap of knowledge due to the lack of nineteenth-century official sources and also give an idea of the interconnections between the sport of trotting and the social life of the various Italian cities. Really interesting and therefore worth visiting! If you want to know all about our tours in Italy click here!