Italy is celebrated for its picturesque scenery, world-class cuisine, rich art, and beautiful automobiles, and living right next door in Greece has let me visit more than once over the years. Even so, one major entry stayed stubbornly unchecked on my automotive bucket list, the Museo Alfa Romeo in Arese. The excuse I had been waiting for finally showed up with the brand’s annual birthday celebration, which this year lined up with the museum’s landmark 50th anniversary.
I planned the trip myself and covered every expense, the lone exception being the press car that Alfa Romeo kindly lent me so I could take in the event through the eyes of an Alfisti. Before we reach the museum, let me walk you through the metropolitan sprawl of Milan, the beautiful villages of Lake Como, and the lakefront city of Lugano across the border in Switzerland.
Meet The Alfa
My ride for the trip was an Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida Sport Speciale, which slots below the flagship Initiale and Veloce trims. Brera Red paint covered the body, set off by a contrasting black roof and the three-spoke phone-dial 18-inch Fori alloy wheels, and the combination gave the little SUV a richer presence than its price suggests.
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Beyond the Sport Speciale badges on the fenders, this grade sets itself apart with the vintage Alfa Romeo lettering across the scudetto grille and a run of gloss black accents. Initially, I wasn’t a fan of the busy styling of the Junior, but I have to admit that the model has a smidge of an exotic flair in this configuration and will make you look twice.
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While there are no changes to the 143 hp (107 kW / 145 PS) mild-hybrid turbo 1.2-liter engine or the chassis setup compared to the standard Junior, the Sport Speciale shows its true nature when you step inside the cabin.
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The seats are upholstered in perforated Alcantara and Ice white leather, featuring heating and massaging functions for the driver. More importantly, Alfa added Alcantara inserts on the steering wheel, dashboard, and center console, addressing some of the complaints about the perceived quality in the standard Junior.
Equipment is generous, with the optional Techno Pack adding Matrix LED headlights, more ADAS, a 180-degree rear view camera, a hands-free tailgate, wireless charging, front and rear USB ports, and a better six-speaker audio system to go with the standard 10.25-inch infotainment. If you’re curious about the cost, the mild-hybrid Sport Speciale starts from €31,150 ($35,600) in Italy, with an extra €1,650 ($1,900) for the bi-tone shade, and €1,000 ($1,100) for the Techno Pack fitted to the press car.
Exploring Milan
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With the vehicle basics out of the way, let me walk you around Milan. The first stop is the iconic central square and its imposing marble cathedral, the Duomo di Milano. This gothic landmark is striking to witness up close, from its sheer scale to the 3,400 statues and the 135 spires reaching into the sky above the city.
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Right beside Italy’s largest Catholic church sits the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. The oldest active shopping center in the country carries a beautiful ceiling overhead, and it leads you toward the Teatro alla Scala waiting on the far side.
Art aficionados will appreciate the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, which double as historic palaces and are located near the city center. There, you will find original paintings from masters like Caravaggio, Francesco Hayez, Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Raphael, and Leonardo Da Vinci.
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I would also recommend renting an electric bike, which costs €0.75 ($0.86) per hour once you get a €9 ($10) weekly subscription. This lets you stop pretty much anywhere you please, sidestepping the parking headache of Milan. Personally, I enjoyed the sunset at the Navigli Canal and pedaled my way into the park of the Sforza Castle. Still, you have to be extra careful on the bumpy stone roads and stick to the designated bike lanes where possible.
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For slightly longer distances, like paying a visit to the San Siro stadium that hosts famous soccer clubs Inter and Milan, you can always use public transport. This time, I chose the comfort of the Junior since I happened to visit during a major heatwave. Thankfully, the small SUV had an ice-cold A/C system while serving up a quiet and refined ride despite the 18-inch wheels of the Sport Speciale.
Note To Self: Don’t Update Your Infotainment On Vacation
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The only real trouble I ran into with the Junior was an unexpected error that left it frozen on the side of the road for about half an hour, and it happened shortly after I took delivery. It all began the moment I pressed “Accettare” on the infotainment display before switching the language from Italian over to English.
As it turned out, I had accidentally enabled an over-the-air update that stuck on “Complete” and refused to let me start the engine or move the car an inch. The fix was to unlatch the battery and wait a full 10 minutes, effectively forcing the Alfa into a hard reset before it would cooperate.
Thankfully, the SUV came back to its senses and everything worked fine across the rest of my trip. The whole episode taught me to steer clear of software updates altogether, especially when I’m far away from home.
The Beauty Of Lake Como
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Coming back to our sightseeing session, I spent a day exploring some of the beautiful villages scattered around Lake Como, which sits roughly an hour outside of Milan. The iconic Y-shaped lake stretches 170 km (104 miles) around its perimeter, and the dramatic relief of the surrounding area fills it with twisty roads that beg to be driven.
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The scenery is stunning and can easily inspire a spirited drive, though you have to keep a sharp eye out for incoming traffic. The roads run narrow with poor visibility and few places to pull over, which means you will be better off holding a relaxed pace and taking in the view.
As for the Junior, while it can’t match the sophistication and exceptional handling characteristics of the larger Stelvio, I did appreciate its manners in the Dynamic mode which makes the steering sharper and improves the throttle response more than I remembered from my review.
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The performance of the mild-hybrid system, widely used across the Stellantis portfolio, proved more than adequate on the highway. Despite the size of the ICE and the tiny electric motor, the SUV struck a good balance between pace and efficiency and made a comfortable cruiser at speeds up to 120 km/h (75 mph), after which it got a little noisy.
Following a quick stop for a photoshoot in the main city of Como, I headed to the tiny village of Nesso where I enjoyed a traditional pizza with a beautiful view of the water. With lunch sorted, I walked down the tight alleys packed with greenery and found myself on a small bridge right next to a waterfall you may have seen on TikTok. Young people use this spot to jump into the lake, but the highlight for me was the cold air rolling down from the mountains like a natural A/C.
The truth is that you will never get bored driving around Lake Como, as there are more places worth visiting than you can imagine. That said, I had a tight schedule, and since I had already enjoyed a short cruise on a Riva boat during a previous trip, I decided to move on to my next destination.
Next Stop: Switzerland
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Only 45 minutes from Como and a little over an hour outside Milan you will find the Swiss lakeside city of Lugano. The landscape shifts the moment you cross the border between Italy and Switzerland, greeting you with even more green and much better roads. The picturesque city sits in the Italian-speaking part of southern Switzerland, so trying to communicate with locals feels much the same.
Lugano has a long lakefront perfect for relaxing walks. You can also grab an ice cream, rent a pedal boat or check out the Fiat 500 jet boats that operate in the region.
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Switzerland is a wealthy country, which means automotive enthusiasts will enjoy the car spotting, with the city providing an ideal backdrop for your photos. I spent about an hour there and still crossed paths with a number of exotics such as the Lamborghini Revuelto, Porsche 911 GT3 Touring, Ferrari 296, Ferrari Roma, Aston Martin Vantage, and more.
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Still, what really caught my eye was a classic Alfa Romeo 2000 GT Veloce from the ’70s parked close to a modern Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm. The placement of the two cars against the scenery made me feel like I had booked a photoshoot with the owners. The encounter served as an appetizer for the following day, which would mark my first visit to the Museo Alfa Romeo in Arese.
A Celebration For The Alfisti
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Visiting the museum on its 50th birthday was a memorable experience, with far more going on than a regular tour. Owners from all over the world had gathered for the occasion, and the parking lot was packed with all kinds of Alfa Romeo models.
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The number of Giulia Quadrifoglios was impressive, joined by older gems like the 156 GTA in sedan and SW forms. The atmosphere was great, with everyone friendly and having a good time despite the intense heat. Whether you drove a MiTo or a sought-after classic, you felt at home, with a sense of unity among owners and fans.
The schedule included parking the private cars all around the Arese track, with some of them forming a colorful “Museo 50” mural on the grass. Alfa Romeo rolled out the stunning 33 Stradale supercar and the ultra-rare Giulia Quadrifoglio Luna Rossa edition, mingling with the beautiful classics. Then the museum hosted a presentation indoors, sparing us from the burning sun.
The Museo Alfa Romeo
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Aside from the special events, I had the chance to explore the museum and take in some of my all-time favorite designs, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the whole trip. My personal pick was the original prototype of the gorgeous 8C Competizione from 2003 that went on to inspire the production version of 2007. Close behind it was the unique 33 Stradale Prototipo from 1967, a car widely considered one of the most beautiful ever made.
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You also can’t help but stare at the curves of the C52 Disco Volante Spider built by Carrozzeria Touring in 1952, which shared the floor with its coupe sibling. The gathering of concepts brought together the wedge-shaped Carabo by Gandini, the Iguana by Giugiaro, and the 33/2 Coupe Speciale by Pininfarina, all parked in the same room.
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I also loved the 1960 Giulietta Sprint Speciale by Bertone, the wide-body 1750 GTAm racing car from 1970, and the boxy 155 DTM from 1993 which was parked next to stunning endurance racers and F1 single-seaters.
A Private Tour Behind The Scenes
Besides the regular collection, I was invited to a private tour of three extra floors filled with concepts, rare production models, more racing cars and a bunch of scale models from the vaults of the Centro Stile Alfa Romeo. This guided tour is offered at an extra cost, but I think it’s worth it for hardcore fans of the Italian brand that want a behind-the-scenes look.
On those upper floors I saw a wide variety of classics from the early days of Alfa Romeo up until the ’00s. A few examples that stood out were the 156 GTAm from 2002, the Zagato SZ “Il Mostro” in coupe and roadster forms from the early ’90s, the Kamal SUV concept from 2003, and the 1991 Proteo concept with the retractable glass roof.
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I was also floored by the racing sedans with the custom bodykits, the 164 ProCar fitted with an F1-derived V10 engine, and the stillborn Group C racing car. Finally, you come across oddities like the Giugiaro-styled New York taxi from 1976, a chopped-up 164 Vigili Del Fuoco built for firefighters, and the 1998 Monoposto Spider concept.
Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed the story and the photo galleries as much as I enjoyed the trip. As for the Junior, some will joke that disconnecting its battery on a blistering Milanese afternoon might be the most authentic way to experience a modern Alfa Romeo, while others will write it off as an overpriced Peugeot 2008 wearing a different dress.
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Still, after spending a few days with it, I came away thinking that while it is no flawless machine or thoroughbred like the Giulia, it holds its own as a decent contender in Europe’s crowded small SUV segment, targeting buyers who want to stand out from the crowd.
As I watched decades of history parade around the museum track, I realized that the true magic of Alfa Romeo isn’t found on a spec sheet at all. It lives in the community, the heritage, and the unspoken rule that you follow your heart rather than your head. If you have ever dreamed of making the pilgrimage to Arese, my advice is to go for it. You will come home with a few good stories and a soul full of memories.
