Another event we happened across in Siena (besides the Contrada Parade) was the 1,000 Miglia race stop in Siena.
The 1,000 Miglia (Mille Miglia) race is a nearly 100-year old race that goes roundtrip from Brescia to Rome and back, approximately 1,000 miles. Unlike modern rally races, the slower cars start first. To enter the race, your car must be produced prior to 1957 and be manufactured by a company that was present in the first 1,000 Miglia race, which includes Alfa Romeo, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes, and Porsche.
For the stop in Siena, carpets in the color of the Italian flag were laid out in the main piazza, Piazza del Campo.
They also set up a luncheon for the racers, in the small piazza right outside of our Airbnb.
The cars were all incredible! It was so awesome to see such a variety of vintage automobiles.
They also had some newer cars as part of the race, but I don’t think they were officially racing.
The winner this year was an Italian driver with a 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Spider Zagato.
I’m so glad we had a chance to see this. It’s been really incredible to learn about so many new things without even trying since we left the US, almost 3 months ago. For as many cool things you know about, there are hundreds of things you don’t. I’m so grateful to be learning so many new things I didn’t know I wanted to know.
Love cars, too? Let’s cheers with a glass of wine!