New Ferrari store in Venice - 6th September 18:15pm GMT

Ferrari's new Store in Venice was inaugurated today. The Store, situated at number 782 delle Mercerie, close to Piazza San Marco, is the ninth official Italian sales point and the twelfth in the world.

The two Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro drivers, Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa, took part in the ribbon cutting ceremony. The drivers were on their way to Monza where they will take part in Sunday's Grand Prix of Italy. The two landed at Piazza San Marco in a gondola, and were welcomed by the mayor, Massimo Cacciari.

The Venetian store has a floor area of 170 square metres. It offers a wide range of Ferrari products, the majority of which are only on sale in the Ferrari Stores. The five areas, fans, luxury, vintage, children and editorial, house over 1500 items. These include men's, women's and children's clothing, leather goods, memorabilia, publications, toys and gadgets.

The display area has been specially developed to integrate into an unusual city like Venice. Experimental techniques and materials were employed to prevent flood tides causing damage. The Store fits seamlessly into the architecture of the magical city.

As per tradition, an F1 car is exhibited in the window, this time the F2002 that last June was ferried along the Grand Canal to Piazza San Marco under the gaze of hundreds of fans. Visitors to the Store are welcomed with a roar of the car's engine.

Venice's Ferrari Store follows on the heels of others in Maranello, Roma, Milan, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Las Vegas. There are also shops in Bologna, Milano Malpensa and Roma Fiumicino airports. An ambitious expansion plan will see the opening of a further forty sales points in the next five years. These will be in Europe, America and the Far East.

At the same time as the inauguration, in Piazza San Marco's colonne del Todaro e del Leone, two classic Prancing Horse cars were displayed to the public: the 250 GT Tour de France from 1957 and a 1953 500 Mondial Sport.