1000 MILES TO ROME AND BACK
Mille Miglia Vintage Sports Car Race in Italy
The
classic Italian motoring event which runs from Brescia, Lombardy to
Rome and back again takes
place over
a 4 day weekend with the driving taking 3 days. Born in 1927 the Mille
Miglia was billed as the most beautiful road race in the world and
a long
cherished
Italian
tradition,
immortalized by Federico Fellini and movies like “The Racers”.
With Italian greats like 
Nuvolari and Ascari tearing
through 1000 miles of Italian country roads and town squares in Bugatti's,
Maserati's,
Mercedes and Ferrari’s. The
race was also the most dangerous road race in the world and ended in
1957 with a terrible accident. The event was revitalized as a timed rally
and has grown into one of the world's premiere gatherings of vintage sports
and touring cars. Almost 400
cars
enter for
the 3 day car party of classic million dollar machines following the
famous “Red Arrow” from Piazza del Loggia to Ferrara, Rome
and back across the Apennines of Tuscany.
Find the best hotel deals in Brescia
For
car enthusiasts, the Mille Miglia is perhaps unique among modern day
road racing events in that it is
absolutely free to watch. Walk through
the plaza during the all-day long Thursday check-in and safety inspection
of the cars and get as close to museum quality auto art as you want,
short of getting in the driver’s seat. Talk with the owners and
drivers who will gladly tell you about their cars, with a twinkle of
pride in the eyes.
Get an early seat at the outdoor café tables around the Piazza, or just stand on the street curb as dusk nears to watch 60 years of car history roar past on the way out of town, with the aroma of pure gasoline filling your nostrils and the echo of throaty pipes bouncing off the Cathedral square.
But
you don’t
have to follow the cars on the three day round trip journey. After
watching the departure, take two days to
enjoy Northern Italy. Visit Italy’s largest fresh water body (see Italy's
Big Lake Playland) visit the many castles of
the wine regions of Trentino (see Castles
of Trentino) go cheese tasting in
Parma or wine tasting in Franciacorta. On Sunday when the cars return,
find a spot along the route in Modena or Reggio Nell'Emilia (see Taste
of Italy Tours) or Casalmaggiore and
catch the parade of cars as they pass through the city streets (see
also Mille
Miglia Museum).
It takes 3 or 4 hours for the full compliment of cars to pass so you still have time to get back up to Brescia for the finish, as the cars come through the viewing and award stands until almost midnight and the partying begins at clubs around Brescia.
Brescia is
about an hour from Milan by motorway or about a half hour by train
from Verona. Montichiari
Airport is served by RyanAir (see Discount
Airlines). To stay in Brescia, it is a good
idea to reserve a room early for Wednesday or
Thursday
night. 
The
train station in Bresica is unfortunately not in the center of the
old town as other European cities and the streets
are a bit confusing to drive around. Coming by car many hotels have signs
posted as you enter town from
the motorway,
but it’s
still easy to get a little lost. But you can always follow the Red Arrow. © Bargain
Travel Europe
Compare the best hotel and travel deals in Lombardy Italy on TripAdvisor
Web
Info Mille
Miglia Org
Mille
Miglia Route Map
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
SEE ALSO:
MONACO
HISTORICS GRAND PRIX
LAGO
d'ISEO - HOTEL VILLA KINZICA
BAY OF SILENCE
PLAY GOLF IN EUROPE ON A BUDGET
MERCEDES-BENZ MUSEUM STUTTGART
