Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale at Villa d'Este - Print

When manufacturers model their roadgoing cars after their cutting-edge racing prototypes, the result is always extraordinary. Such is the case with the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, a mid-engine sports car built by Alfa Romeo from 1967 and 1969 that was based on their Tipo 33 sports prototype. The 2.0 L V8 gives it a 0-62 mph of less than six seconds and a claimed top speed of 160 mph. It was the fastest commercially available car at the time and the most expensive automobile for sale to the public in 1968 at a base price of US $17,000. Most cars at the time only cost around $2,822. Only 18 examples were built in the car's three year production span, making it one of the rarest Alfas to ever exist.

Villa d'Este, one of the many esteemed villas built around the shores of Lake Como, during the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. The Villa was originally named Villa del Garovo and was founded as a female convent in 1442 by Gerardo Landriani, Bishop of Como. A century later, Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio demolished the nunnery and turned it into a summer residence for himself. In 1815, it became the residence of Caroline of Brunswick who renamed it to Nuova Villa d'Este. It was converted into a deluxe hotel for nobility and the rich in 1873, a status it retains to this day.

The Concorso in question was established in 1929 as the Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este before being indefinitely postponed in 1951 due to the crisis affecting the coachbuilding industry and thus the limited numbers of cars that would have been available for the show. It was revived in 1986 and once more in 1995, 1996, and 1997. In 1999, the BMW Group took note of the event and officially revived it alongside the Villa d'Este hotel. Since 2011, the Concorso has taken place in the second half of May and host cars built from the 1920s to the 1970s.

Lake Como itself is the third-largest lake in Italy and houses numerous villas and resorts. It has been a famous vacation spot for the wealthy and aristocrats of the world since Roman times, with many celebrities claiming homes along its shores. The Sacro Monte di Ossuccio ("Holy Mount of Ossuccio"), one of nine Italian holy sites of Christianity known as "Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy", is also located along the western edge of Lake Como. The site is dedicated to the Coronation of the Virgin and was added by UNESCO to the World Heritage List in 2003.

This illustration was hand drawn on paper based on a rolling shot of a 33 Stradale before being digitally illustrated by our artists and printed on large and luxurious museum-quality paper.