Millions of people come to marvel at the remains of ancient Rome, The Eternal City. Yet who can say that the artefacts of our own age are less worthy of preservation? We live in an era of planned obsolescence – a 1920s philosophy for which GM President Alfred P. Sloan bore much responsibility – so the products of the recent past may seem less precious to us. It is only when things are lost – old cars, for example – that we regret losing them. Countless enthusiasts all over the world devote a great deal of time and effort to the preservation of automotive history. Nevertheless in Europe, the extent of The NB Center’s work with American cars is unique. Only a couple of miles from the Colosseum, tucked away in a city backstreet, The NB Center’s Rome garage is a fascinating place.

Decorated with vintage signs and photographs and equipped with comprehensive workshops, a smart function room and cozy living quarters, not to mention hundreds of books and models on illuminated glass shelves, The NB Center’s Rome garage is the heart of an automobile preservation operation unparalleled outside America. Nowhere else in Europe will you find such an array of pre-war Buicks, Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, Packards and Pontiacs, nor such dedicated and painstaking efforts to restore and maintain them in perfect driving condition.

Numbering almost 100 cars, The NB Center’s Rome collection is a rare resource and a palpable reminder of the global influence of US automobile design before WW2. “These cars made America,” says Nicola Bulgari. “But what many Americans don’t realize is that they were also incredibly popular in Europe, not least because they were generally more advanced and reliable than European cars of the period.”

Testament to this prestigious reputation are the stars of the Rome collection, a remarkable group of 10 limousines formerly owned and run by the Vatican. Since their acquisition by the NB Center, these wonderfully historic automobiles have all been restored by the skilled and committed NB Center team, who have have learned much from their American colleagues in Allentown; repair and restoration projects are all now managed entirely in-house by the mechanical staff led by Sergio Caudai and by the skilled bodyshop team of Carrozzeria A. Rizza: Alberto, Daniale and Mirko. Their work is second to none and, as far as American automobiles are concerned, unique in Europe.

Helping to ensure that such work continues in future, The NB Center also supports educational establishments such as Rome’s Istituto Salesiano Teresa Gerini Torlonia, founded in 1952, which gives practical and vocational training to young people wishing to learn mechanical engineering, bodywork restoration and electrical skills, not least through internships with associated companies that may lead to full-time careers.goes here

In the lovely hills of Tuscany, 100 miles north of Rome, lies the ancient municipality of Sarteano. Inhabited for thousands of years, this area contains some of the most important tombs of the Etruscan civilisation, dating back to the 4th Century BC and beyond. It also contains some interesting 20th Century artefacts.

Located in a quiet corner of the Sarteano suburbs The NB Center occupies two beautifully refurbished buildings – the newest a former shoe polish factory, the other a simple warehouse – where an ever-changing selection of cars is kept ready for excursions into the Tuscan countryside.

The NB Center’s mission is not merely to preserve and promote America’s automotive heritage, but to maintain a living collection in full working order. Driving historic cars, whether for comparative research or pure enjoyment, is an essential part of the collection’s activity in both Europe and the USA. Yet the Sarteano garages are more than mere storage facilities. They are equipped with libraries and hospitality areas, not to mention the glass display cases full of model cars, and in their high-quality interior finishes they more resemble prestigious automotive museums than functional car parks. The difference, of course, is that here the collection is anything but static. The delightful and largely traffic-free roads of Tuscany beg to be driven, and so do the cars themselves.

From week to week the pool of available vehicles here may include any of those that are normally kept at The NB Center’s garage in Rome, but in addition to the pre-war and post-war classics the Sarteano facility hosts newer, more potent machines – Camaro, Corvette, Firebird and more – which may demonstrate how much (or how little) progress has been made over a century of automotive development. Documentary and photographic research is fascinating, but the only way properly to judge an automobile is to take it out on the open road. Cars were made to be driven!