Monday, May 28, 2018

The Mille Miglia Ferraris and Alfa Romeos At Home

Every year in May there's a special event based on tradition called the Mille Miglia.   (Pronounced millay millya)  It has passion like a running of the bulls, except it is the 1000 mile run of stallions (Ferraris) as well as many historically important automobiles from the past. Charging over hills and down and around narrow country roads covering 1000 miles, it's frightening to say the least!

The real Millie Miglia, a 1000 mile loop from Brescia around the countryside of Italy to Rome and back stopped running in 1957 due to safety concerns. The event lives on in a commemorative race every year tracing the original route from the glory days of the automobile. The original event started in 1927 and highlighted the most storied automobiles of the time.  It was a time when thousands of spectators from villages to cities lined the roadway to get a fleeting glimpse of these ferocious contenders as they blasted by in a cloud of dust or mud depending on the weather.

Heros were made from this race including  the likes of Giuseppe Campari, Tazio Nuvolari , Clemente Biondetti and Sterling Moss to name a few. It was a country wide tailgate party the likes we will never know.  To Italians it stirred passion and excitement like a world cup soccer match!

In the US, the Indy 500 is close to the Mille Miglia in stirring passion among fans but that's a short burst of energy when compared to the volcanic like fire that is produced by literally millions of fans around a 1000 mile circuit that involves a whole country!


And why are Ferraris and Alfa Romeos so much a part of this?    Alfa Romeo won it 11 times and Ferrari won 8 times.  No other marque comes close.

So with that as the backdrop,  here's a couple of videos of the Ferrari Tribute that was an addendum to the main even.  And for the fans that want (and should) know more, I  have attached a link giving background on the 2018 Mille Miglia.     Enjoy and Boun Giorno!



To add some Italian flair, here's a picture of my Alfa Romeo Giula in the woods near Woodstock, GA where I attended our Grandson's High School graduation over the weekend. ( He even got to drive the Giulia while I was there.)





But first you need to know why there is such a close connection between this race and Alfa Romeo.  Here's the best video I've found to summarize that:

Alfa Romeo and the Mille Miglia


The 2018 Mille Miglia Compete Information

To understand what all this means in the real world- watch this video.  You must!

The Mille Miglia is a Little Crazy!



And here are two cool videos of an Alfa Romeo 'support vehicle' tagging along with the Ferrari Tribute cars.    Soak in the passion and tradition by watching!


The Ferrai That Was Got Kicked Off The Mille Miglia


An Alfa Romeo Following A Ferrari- Super Fast and Super Cool!


Hope you enjoyed this post.    Forza Alfa/  Forza Ferrari
Paul Ziegler, Publisher             Carcamerastory.com