In search of the Mille Miglia

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First some history on the Mille Miglia.

On December 2, 1926, in Milan, Italy, at a late meeting, Conte Aynmo Maggi, a very successful race driver from Bresca, joined with 3 friends to discuss creating a road race of significant magnitude for sports cars. Part of Maggi's reasoning for creating a major race was to revive the lack of interest in cars from Italy. It was decided to be a very difficult road race for both cars and drivers. Wanting to start the race in Bresca, Maggi's home town and include Rome, which would follow the norm of racing from city to city was discussed. But the idea was rejected as it was desired to have Bresca the major player in the race.

Then the world changing moment, "Bresca to Rome to Bresca in a single stage". A quick check on the distance to be covered was made and one of the planers said the distance was 1,000 miles, and history was made.

The Coppa della Mille Miglia.

The first start of the Mille Miglia was March 26, 1927. The last Mille Miglia was Sunday May 12/13, 1957, then banned by the Italian Government.

1927 Bugatti Type 35B

The first race was run in cars weighing up to 3,000 Lbs with power out-put in the area of 50HP. One of the fastest, the Bugatti Type 35 had 150 HP with a weight of about 1700 LBs. The last races were run in cars weighing around 1,500 Lbs with power out-put in the area of 300HP and very high sustained speeds.

Tragedy had to strike and it did.

On May 13, 1957, driving a highly tuned Ferrari 335 S, the Marchese Alfonso de Portago had a front tire failure that caused the Ferrari to leave the road and crash into the spectators at the side of the road killing driver, Alfonso, his co driver, and 9 spectators which include 5 children.

The incredible Mille Miglia was over.

In search of Conte Maggi's Mille

I had been advised by my lovely wife that she had secured two spots on a tour of Italy this April of 2005 and we are going to see all the sights. I am thrilled. This is the home of Ferrari. This is the home of the Mille Miglia. I immediately start my research. Where is the tour bus going. What exact route are we going to take and where are we staying. Stay-overs and general itinerary is secured but the exact route is a mystery. I decide that I will have to work this part out on the fly. Once I had the stops identified, the key was a day free of bus travel in Florence, I determined that a short train ride to Modena and a bus or taxi ride would get me to Maranello. The home of Ferrari. The place that the infamous car was built. The one that Fon de Portago was driving for Enzo that fateful day in1957. When he was killed as the tire failed and sent the car off road into the crowed of spectators killing driver and co-driver Ed Nelson and 10 of the cheering crowd at Guidizzolo, near Brescia. Thus ending the worlds most famous road race. I wanted to go the gates of Ferrari and gaze in at this hollowed ground of racing machines. To see if I could feel any of the magic the makes up the history of Ferrari.

The Mille may have been ended by a Ferrari but it was not created with Ferrari in mind. Ferrari the car didn't exist back in 1927 when the Automobile Club (in) Brescia members discussed having a road race that would start and finish in Brescia but not before reaching Roma. A 1,000 mile race. The Mille would see the cars of the day Fiat, Alfa, Bugatti and so on, run flat-out over the open road. It would be a great race for everyone to drive in. And it was. I wanted to look out on those valleys and hills. See the old cities and villages that the Mille ran through. Possibly I could see an old marker, a long forgotten red arrow left in place, faded but still boldly marking the way. My source of Mille information was a well illustrated book, "Conte Maggi's Mille Miglia" by Peter Miller, that showed the Mille's routes for each year that it ran. I made copies of the routes and set them against a current map with the tours cities highlighted and hoped that some of the old roads would be traversed by our oversized tour bus.

Rome's Piazza Navona

Rome was a crazy mass of people, buildings, roads and mad Italian drivers. There was no hope of finding the Red Arrow. I did however find several of the small Fiats like those that were used to attack the Mille in anger. My mind however supplied me with the images of revving cars careening through the streets of Rome in pursuit of a finishing time in the Mille as I witnessed the everyday Roman driver.

1936 Route

Our tour of Italy started in Rome and went north. The Mille turned back north at Rome signifying the halfway point heading back to Brescia, the finish. My route was the new A1 highway. The pride of Italian road building and engineering. The old Mille was a bit more west, running directly from Rome to Siena. The old City of Siena was, fortunately a tour stop. We made a hard turn west off the A1 and pulled into the narrow outlying roads of Siena. Would I find shadows of the Red Arrows?

There were no obvious signs of the Route as we walked past the old ramparts that once guarded the City, yet, can I say I thought I could hear the high pitch revving of the old racer's engines still echoing back and forth in the cities narrow ally ways.

Siena on the Mille Miglia Route

As I left the Ancient City, following our tireless tour Guide Lorenzo, just outside the main walls, I stopped to photograph a very tempting narrow section of road, that made a sharp 90 degree turn and shot back down the hillside running out of town. Just the place to run the Mille I thought. As I framed this corner from several angles to get the best perspective, a green road sign on a silver post came into my camera's view finder. "Viale dei Mille".

The Bus exited Siena on the old road north to Florence. I was now at last on the same route of the Mille for the years 1927- 1937 and 1951-1957. It was hard not to imagine that what I saw was much the same as all the Mille racers saw while driving back to Brescia at their top speed. The hills could be little changed after all these years, even having survived World War II and escaping all modernization. Only the occasional new villa would appear in the trees and in between the new buildings were the remains of older vacant buildings, some half or less standing but many with their trade mark red tile roofs intact. In my mind I was setting in the seat next to a race car driver, as he push it as hard as the car would go headed for a winning time in the Mille Miglia, waving back to the long gone inhabitants of those now vacant farm houses.

Factory Gates

Our tour bus entered Florence most likely at the same velocity as some of the early racecars and I can presume, with no less relief. Unlike the race drivers who would make the Brescia-Roma-Brescia run non-stop, we were spending the night.

It was 4:00 AM. I had jumped ship and was headed off on my own adventure to Maranello. My lovely wife would not give up a day of shopping and a view of the engineering faux pas known as the Tower of Pisa to accompany me to the most holly land of automotive engineering. The taxi driver was giving me an early morning demonstration of what the Mille racers most likely did when racing through Florence. As there were no Red Arrows anywhere in sight, I can not presume that we were on-route.

Maranello was reached after a train ride to Bologna with a transfer to Modena. Then a taxi ride through the flat lands outside Modena to the Maranello Ferrari Factory Gallera. The ride is pleasant. The outskirts of Modena is quickly reached and farm land is traversed mostly while behind large trucks. The first sign of "arriving" is the Factory test track, seen out the right side window followed by several Ferrari only retail stores. Then the famous Gates of the Factory, which is right across from the Ristorante Cavallino. At this point I am hollering at the driver to let me out. But the die was set back in Modena when I said "Gallera Ferrari please" and there was no way he was going to let me out before we reached the place.

Gallera Ferrari in Maranello, 2005

The Gallera Ferrari however was a great place to start the day. After a quick look around I had breakfast in the cafe and planned my photo shoot. By the time I was finished with the Gallera it was lunch time and as I walked into the streets there were all these men in red coveralls all over the place. Factory workers on lunch brake, I decide. The thought crossed my mind that if I could score a pair of red coveralls, I might be able to follow these guys through the gate when the whistle blows. Careful searching of the apparel stores in the immediate area revealed many options of red everything but cotton coveralls.

Could I pass as a returning worker?

The next item of importance was lunch at the Commendatore's favorite lunch spot. Hoping to feel the presents of Enzo I settled into a well placed seat in the Ristorante Cavallino, drank wine and dined on food prepared for the finest in Maranello.

After a fine lunch I walked the short distance back down the road to where I could see the Factory test track. There were some Ferrari's doing laps. While waiting for the ride back I thought I would take a photo of the side window of the main factory building that had some TV monitors showing through it. I had to take a few steps towards a set of turn styles to get a view around an extension of the metal fence. Did get the shot off, but the Factory Guard came running at me like I had just made off with the blueprints to their newest race car.

The Mille section from Florence to Bologna, over the Apennine mountains. My train ran to Bologna under the mountains mostly in one long tunnel with a few looks at sun light thrown in. The tour bus ran on A1, which was mostly a long gradual climb up one side and down the other. The Mille racers having run before the A1 was in place, I am certain, had a much more dramatic road to drive. Once north of the mountains the land opens up to flat agricultural fields and the roads run flat and straight. The later years of the Mille saw speeds up to 200 miles per hour. The Mille run from Bologna to Brescia was flat and fast and the cars had endured almost 1,000 miles of hard punishment. Everyone knew the race had become just too dangerous.

1936 Route; Assisi in Red Circle

Our tour was scheduled for Verona, Vicenza, Padova and Venice. The Mille ran through Verona, Vicenza, and Padova before turning south to Ravenna. This is all flat land and from the bus side windows not visually inspiring. In a race car between 1927 and 1957 one can envision the drivers fresh from the excitement of the start, pushing as fast as their cars will go. We proceed to Venice through Padova. A section of the road from Padova to Venice was on the 1938 Mille route.

Near Assisi 2005

Back on the bus leaving Venice heading south we reach Ravenna, meeting the Mille once again. The roads have all changed but I can feel the terrain saying to the racers, to press faster, the mountains are a head. Gain time now while you and car are fresh. The Mille route changed several times and south of Revenna there were many routes but most included the wonderful ancient city of Assisi, the home of our tour guide Lorenzo Epifani. We were headed for Assisi.

Milli Miglia 1927-1936 Route; Assisi to Spaleto

The view from the window in our Assisi hotel was the valley in which the Mille ran. We exited Assisi the next morning and climbed the mountains on the same road that the Bugatti's, Alfa's and Ferrari's would run flat out trying to reach Roma. We were headed south for Capri, Sorrento and Pompei and would not see Rome before the next day. The Mille racers once reaching Roma would press on to Brescia before shutting of their engines. We still had much wine to drink, food to eat, and sites yet to see before we reached the finish line of our Mille Miglia Plus.
Franklin Cunningham

Gallera Ferrari, Maranello in 2005

Ferrari Factory workers on lunch brake

Ristorante Cavallino

Ristorante Cavallino

Ferrari's Test Track, Pista di Ferrari. The Fiorano Circuit is a development and testing private racetrack owned by Ferrari. It is located in Fiorano Modenese, near the Italian town of Maranello.

Ferrari Test Track

While waiting for a ride back to Florence I was standing on the sidewalk next to the steel fence that ran the length along the front of the factory property, and next to the opening that lead into the Factory Grounds. I walked down the path where I could see the buildings. There was one with glass windows and a sign that said "Reception". I managed to get one photo before the guard at the door came charging out and chased me away.

Siena in 2005 on the Milli Miglia Route

Siena in 2005 on the Milli Miglia Route

The Rome Forum at night. The Mille Miglia's halfway point.

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