Mille Miglia Historic Route Core: Rome to Parma

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Rome

   Rome is the end of the line for the Mille Miglia, or at least the halfway mark, because the old race ran out from Brescia to Rome and back again, a thousand Italian miles in all, which is where the name comes from. It ran from 1927 until 1957, mostly through towns and villages with the roads left open and crowds standing at the kerb, and the drivers flew down the Via Cassia and through the Apennine passes at speeds that make the whole thing seem barely believable now. It ended after a crash in 1957 that killed spectators, and was later revived as a rolling classic-car parade, which still comes through Rome every spring.

   Read the complete Rome write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Rome is where the day begins. Next is Siena.

2. 2. Siena

   Siena is the opposite of Florence in nearly every way that matters, and the Sienese would like you to remember it. It sits on three ridges in southern Tuscany, a compact medieval city of brick and stone in warm reddish-brown tones, and at its centre lies the Piazza del Campo, a vast shell-shaped square sloping down to a tall brick tower, the Torre del Mangia, about a hundred metres high. Twice each summer, on the second of July and the sixteenth of August, the square is covered with earth and ten riders from the city's districts, the contrade, race bareback around it in the Palio, a dangerous, chaotic event that lasts about ninety seconds and is felt by the whole city as a matter of honour.

   Read the complete Siena write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Siena comes up about 236 km into the recorded legs. Next is Florence.

3. 3. Florence

   Florence was one of the great stops on the Mille Miglia, and it is easy to see why the race came through. Drivers arriving from Bologna had crossed the Raticosa and Futa passes in the Apennines, a long, twisting run of hairpins that tested both engines and nerves, then dropped down into the Arno valley to the city where Brunelleschi's red dome rises above a sea of terracotta roofs. The dome, completed in the fifteenth century over the cathedral, was a feat of engineering that was done without a conventional wooden frame, and it still defines the skyline.

   Read the complete Florence write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 314 km into the recorded legs you reach Florence. Next is Parma.

4. 4. Parma

   Parma sits on the Via Emilia, the straight Roman road that crosses the plain from Rimini to Piacenza, and today it is known above all for what is eaten there. Parmigiano-Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma both come from this corner of Emilia, and a visit is not complete without a slice of each, accompanied by a glass of local sparkling red such as Lambrusco, which is sold everywhere. The pasta here is stuffed with spinach and ricotta, and the fried bread called torta fritta arrives with plates of cured meat.

   Read the complete Parma write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Parma closes the day.