If you haven’t signed up for the annual Mille Miglia storica (the original race took place from the 1920 to the late 1950), you probably won’t get a spot for this year. From 1920 to the late 1950s, the annual Mille Miglia race ran from Brescia to Lago di Garda, to Ferrara, down to Rome and then back up via Florence to finish in Brescia.  culinary tour italy, ferrari, mille miglia

But for your comfort: you can have your own personal Mille Miglia and take the time to enjoy all its sights and tastes and you don´t have to do the whole route, just pick the highlights. An easy entry would be to start at the  Milano  airport Malpensa; rent an  oldtimer at Sprintage (specialised in classic cars from 1950-1970, www.sprintage.it), but make sure you chose your vehicle for this adventure well: a classic car may not have central locking system or  decent air-condition

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Terra dei Motori

By leaving the Lago di Garda area you will enter the “Terra dei Motori” (Engine land), the home of Alfa Romeo, Maserati,

Lamborghini and, of course, Ferrari. It is at the same time a fertile land, crossed by the historic “via Emilia“, the land of salumi, parma cheese, mortadella and tortellini, famous for being Italys pantry and food lovers paradies. Of course, nobody has the Mille Miglia racers´driving skills any more, driving on a modern autostrada often is nerve wracking, but driving a classic car, you will get lots of thumbs up, heads will turn and the traffic will part graciously. These highlights you shouldn´t miss: the historic towns of Brescia, Modena, Bologna, museo Panini 160 (www.paninimotormuseum.it), museo Ferrari (www.museo.ferrari.com, offers also a factory tour), museo Lamborghini (www.lamborghini.com), a culinary tour around Modena, Bologna (www.culinary-factory-tours.com)

http://culinaryfactorytours.com/slow-food-and-fast-cars/

by Martina Kuhnert