This could just be the most beautiful motor vehicle race in the world?
It starts at Brescia in the Lombardy region of Italy and travels to Roma and then return. Like the enduring bike race, the Giro d’Italia, it annually takes a different route.
Through the spectacularly beautiful Italian landscape, 1000 miles from Brescia to Roma and back in an old but oh-so chic car.
This year’s race had a gala showing of the vehicles and coincided with the day Annie and I arrived in Brescia, 11 June. Knowing nothing of the race we were soon advised by Julie Herlihy of Mississippi, USA. She and husband John were driving an open-top 1939 BMW 328.
Julie told us that the cars were all to be seen that night in Piazza Vittoria in the old city and we should have a look. This we did but seeing it from outside wasn’t enough.
Posing as a journalist from Australia, I talked us into the VIP area and got up close to the cars. No one worked harder, taking as many photos as I could.
The next time we saw Julie and John was when I snapped their photograph as the cars lined up to ‘race’ to nearby Castle Brescia.
“I thought you’d never heard of Mille Miglia,” Julie said from her passenger-seat position.
“I hadn’t. But now I’m an Australian journalist covering the event for The Australian,” was replied.
The original Mille Miglia began in 1927 and was an open-road endurance event until 1957 (World War II years excepted). It has since become less of a race and more an expression of daringness and beauty. Certainly the cars are great examples of both
I WRIGHT 