Blow-By system?

All engines have to ventilate the crank case of compression blow by.
If they did not run it back into the intake it would be done with a 'road breather,' not very tidy.
In the 1960's Positive crank case ventilation was for clean air but now it is just a clean way to get crank case gases out to the back of the car after being processed through the engine.

So "no" it is not a exhaust emission device. Are a safety thing.

 

Crankcase gases were discovered to be a significant contributor to Los Angeles' smog in the early sixties. Burning those gases with the intake charge was and is indeed done to reduce tailpipe emissions.
Other than breathing the polluted air there is safety issue.
Evacuating crankcase pressure is also beneficial to making power. Full race engines will also have crankcase ventilation systems.

 

Remember these cars were never brought into the US by Ferrari. Did Italy/Europe require the system for emissios reasons? I remember when I was a kid we had a couple of cars that had the breather tubes vented to the atmosphere and it was kind of nasty. A lot of modern race engines actually put powerful vacum pumps to scavange the crankcase.

 

The system we have on our V12 dates back longer. Way longer before we in Europe even considered emission equipement. I guess it was just designed to keep the engine bay clean and burn off the ventilation gasses via the intake.