There are places that you don’t just visit: you live. The Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack in Imola is one of these. It is not just a circuit, but a piece of Formula 1 history, a temple of engines where every curve tells something. We were lucky enough to participate in one of the Open Days, special days in which the track is open to the public for free. A rare opportunity that allows you to enter as protagonists into a space usually reserved for cars and motorbikes.
Walk on a legendary trail
Access is from the gate under the tower in Ayrton Senna Square and from there begins something difficult to explain in words. During the days dedicated to pedestrians, the circuit is transformed: no roar of engines, just footsteps, bicycles without wheels for children, strollers and people walking immersed in a surreal atmosphere. Traveling along that track on foot, feeling the asphalt under your feet where the greatest riders raced, is an experience that has a strong, almost unexpected emotional weight.
These days are precisely organized: some are dedicated to pedestrians, others to cyclists. This means that, in addition to walking along the circuit, there is also the possibility of cycling on one of the most iconic tracks in the world, in complete safety and without interference. For those who love cycling, it is a rare opportunity: to ride straights and curves on two wheels that you normally only see on TV.
The Senna memorial: the emotion of the fans’ flags
Walking along the circuit, after a few ritual photos on the starting grid, you inevitably arrive at the most iconic points. And among all, there is one where the atmosphere changes: the Curva del Tamburello where the legendary Ayrton Senna lost his life in a tragic accident on 1 May 1994. Even for non-enthusiasts, it is impossible not to recognize where it happened: a large banner hanging on the track remembers it.
In the same point but outside, surrounded by the greenery of the Mineral Water Park, there is the memorial dedicated to the Brazilian pilot. The bronze statue, over two meters high, portrays him in a moment of contemplation, his gaze turned towards that point of the track where he lost his life on 1 May 1994 during the San Marino Grand Prix.
Around it, a net completely covered with flags, photographs and messages left by fans from all over the world. It is not just a monument: it is a place that continues to collect (and give) emotions. Staying there, even just for a few minutes, means perceiving how much Senna is still present in the collective memory. Without a doubt one of the most touching places I have ever been.
The weekend that changed everything
That weekend in 1994 is still one of the most dramatic in the history of Formula 1. On Friday, Rubens Barrichello’s accident. On Saturday, the tragedy of Roland Ratzenberger, who died during qualifying. Finally, on Sunday, Senna’s fatal impact on the seventh lap. Continuing the route, but from the outside, we also stopped at Curva Tosa, where the plaque dedicated to Ratzenberger is located.
Here the atmosphere is different but equally intense. Less crowded, more intimate, but still full of meaning. Here too the fans leave signs of their passage, keeping alive the memory of an often less famous driver told because he had the misfortune of passing away the day before the legendary Senna.
Gilles Villeneuve is also remembered in Imola
A few hundred meters from the Senna monument, just outside the Mineral Waters Park, there is another symbolic point: the memorial dedicated to Gilles Villeneuve. A different figure, but equally iconic. Villeneuve, a beloved Ferrari driver, lost his life in 1982 during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
He had run his last race in Imola a few days earlier. The monument dedicated to him, characterized by symbolic elements such as circles and structures that recall moments of his career, tells a story of talent and courage. Walking among these places means crossing different eras, but united by the same thread: the passion for speed and the price that this passion sometimes required.
An experience that stays with you
The Open Days allow you to experience all this directly, without filters. It is not just a visit, but a total immersion in a place that alternates adrenaline and memory. From the track to the park, from the straights to the most famous curves, up to the memorials, every step tells something. And in the end, what remains is not only the emotion of having walked on a legendary circuit, but the awareness of having touched a piece of sporting history first-hand. An experience that surprises, involves and, above all, leaves its mark.
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