Ristorante Cavallino by India Mahdavi: Ferrari Heritage Reframed as an Italian Trattoria
Ristorante Cavallino stands opposite Ferrari's Maranello factory, on a site closely tied to the company's history. Ferrari brought together chef Massimo Bottura and architect India Mahdavi to revive the historic trattoria as a contemporary restaurant without losing the familiarity of an Italian institution.
Mahdavi organizes the interior through a sequence of arches that frame views from one dining room to the next. The repetition gives the restaurant a clear rhythm and turns circulation into a gradual procession, while keeping the rooms intimate enough to feel closer to a family trattoria than a formal luxury dining room.
The material palette is rooted in recognisable Italian references. Earth-and-ivory terracotta tiles form a checkerboard floor, oak panelling ties the rooms together, and white tablecloths reinforce the restaurant's deliberately direct, convivial character. Red chairs and yellow leather seating introduce colour that also connects naturally to Ferrari's visual world.
Ferrari heritage is present throughout the project, but it is treated as part of the architecture rather than as a museum display. Historic photographs, posters and memorabilia line the rooms, while the Prancing Horse motif was enlarged and pixelated for applications ranging from metalwork and glass mosaic to wallpaper and lace curtains.
Mahdavi also designed new furniture for the restaurant, including leather seating developed specifically for Cavallino. These bespoke pieces sit alongside references to engines and racing history, allowing the project to move between industrial memory and the domestic codes of the trattoria.
The Enzo Room restores a more private dimension to the restaurant, recalling the space where Enzo Ferrari once spent time. Elsewhere, the project extends outside through garden and terrace dining, giving the revived Cavallino a broader hospitality programme while maintaining continuity with the indoor rooms.
Cavallino succeeds because its design does not rely on nostalgia alone. Mahdavi uses Ferrari's history, regional materials and the familiar language of the Italian trattoria as working design tools, creating a restaurant that feels contemporary while remaining unmistakably connected to Maranello.
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