MILLE MIGLIA

The author of this valuable book, Giovanni Canestrini, a well-known sports writer and journalist, was one of the founders of the Mille Miglia, conceived in his home in December 1926, together with Franco Mazzotti, Aymo Maggi and Renzo Castagneto. For this reason, called the four "moschettieri della Mille Miglia".

All from Brescia, all animated by a proud sporting campanilism, all determined to make their city the "capital" of the most imaginative, most gruelling and beautiful race ever disputed on the roads of the world.

The Italian roads of that era were the first serious problem. Many of them were narrow, winding, full of dust and mud, so that drivers, cars and even spectators faced extreme difficulties. Then there were the other endless problems related to the choice of route, race formulas, controls, surveillance, in short, all the aspects of a very large-scale organisation.

Nevertheless, thanks to the fervour of the promoters, the Mille Miglia became a reality within a few months. That, as Giovanni Canestrini observes, was already an authentic first.

Efforts, on the other hand, were matched by great success. The twenty-four editions of the race - that, with the break due to war, spanned the years from 1927 to 1957 - were events of exceptional importance and resonance.

Drivers from every country competed in the race (among Italian protagonists, Alberto Ascari, Biondetti, Borzacchini, Brilli Peri, Campari, Castellotti, Fagioli, Farina, the Marzotto brothers, Nuvolari, Taruffi, Varzi, Villoresi; among foreign drivers, Caracciola, Chiron, Collins, Fangio, Gendebien, Hawthorn, Kling, Moss, von Trips).

The world's biggest car manufacturers tested and perfected their models there. The public, millions and millions of people, rushed there in delirious enthusiasm to acclaim the champions along the most adventurous passages.

This was the great spectacle of the Mille Miglia, which had half of Italy as its "stage" and became richer with each replica; a spectacle that returns and lives again in the intense and fascinating retrospective of these pages, in the texts and in the rich photographic and documentary material.  

First edition of 1967. Also available the anastatic reprint published in 1990, made in 1500 copies (those on sale numbered from 201 to 1100). Text in Italian.

Index: 05. Premessa dell'autore 11. Quattro mesi di progetti 20. Nasce l'Automobile Club di Brescia 23. Il grande debutto 46. Echi della stampa 66. Un bolide per un giornalista 70. Il gentil sesso scende in campo 99. Nuvolari fa il bis 103. Finalmente vince Varzi 111. L'attrice e la carbonella 118. Enzo Ferrari e "L'Alfa Corse" 129. Scompare Mazzotti, un promotore della corsa 132. Trionfale ripresa 142. Il pilota in doppiopetto 165. Stirling Moss e la barba di Jenkinson 171. L'ultima corsa 177. "Accessori" su vetture concorrenti 186. Percorsi della Mille Miglia 188. Primi tre arrivati nelle singole edizioni 189. Caratteristiche tecniche ed equipaggi delle vetture vincitrici 190. Concorrenti (con rispettive categorie, medie, classifiche) 275. Indice dei nomi di persona