Detour Pit Stop #24: Cesare Fiorio's Masseria Camarda, Italy
The lure of agri-tourism holds such appeal that even those who have lived their life in the fast lane think nothing of wanting to adopt this slower way of life. Just ask Cesare Fiorio. For the uninitiated, the 81-year old is one of the great figureheads of motorsport, and these days he spends his days tending his organic farm in Ceglie Messapica, Apulia, at the heel of Italy’s boot.
Fiorio is the mastermind who put Lancia on the motorsport map. He singlehandedly convinced Gianni Lancia that the Italian car maker should take to the race tracks and rally circuits if it wanted to enhance its image outside of Italy and sell more cars. Bit by bit, he saw to it that Lancia’s ambition grew, even under the ownership of Fiat, and convinced the company that it was imperative to create bespoke cars for the explicit task of winning in motorsport. Cars like the Stratos and 037, which to this day remain some of the most exciting machines ever to put spark and fuel to good use.
He brought together great people and achieved great things. Lancia alone saw 18 World Championships won under Fiorio’s leadership. After being handed the task of reviving the fortunes of Ferrari’s Formula One team - a role he was handed overnight, leaving Rally Portugal on Saturday at the behest of Cesare Romiti, FIAT Group CEO, who would hand Fiorio the job on Sunday, and Fiorio packed his bags and headed to Maranello on the Monday - Fiorio set to improving Ferrari’s fortunes.
Did the team accept him, I asked Fiorio when we last spoke. “When I arrived there, I overheard two old mechanics at Ferrari talking about me. One asked the other, ‘What do you think of this new man we have?’ and the other one answered, ‘Well, they say he eats bread and motorsport’ so I knew I was accepted!”
But the great man fell foul of Piero Fusaro, Ferrari’s chairman, who deliberately let slip to Alain Prost that Senna would be joining Ferrari. Fiorio had secretly met with Ayrton Senna, and the pair had agreed for the Brazilian to join Ferrari in 1992, part of Fiorio’s ongoing plan to make the F1 team the best in the world. Fusaro had little time for F1 or Fiorio, and conspired to force him out. “
All this and so much more can be told to you first hand by the great man himself. Fiorio and his son Alex, a former world rally driver, run Masseria Camarda with care and attention. “Many people come for the Fiorio story. But many other people only find this when they arrive, such as in the Ferrari room. Then they realise, ‘Ah, it’s you! I didn’t realise it’s your hotel,’” Fiorio tells Detour. “This has been much more relaxing than running a motor racing team. But this year, the business of the Coronavirus has hit us hard.” When things return to normal, it is worth exploring.
The walls of the dining room are covered in memorabilia, including the shell of Nigel Mansell’s Ferrari 640 F1 car, which won the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix. The bedrooms, within the old storage towers of the masseria (farm), are a haven of calm and simplicity, while the grounds and pool are soothing enough to have you questioning why you’d drive the 25 minutes to the coast.
For those with a love for all things motorsport, who would relish a chance to speak first hand with one of the true greats - and true gentlemen - of the scene, a Pit Stop at Masseria Camarda is a one-in-a-lifetime holiday.
Words James Mills Twitter | Instagram
Photography Masseria Camarda
