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exploring taste – Spring/Summer 2016 heritage – Mille Miglia

an any other event in the world combine tradition, excitement and beautiful landscapes like Mille Miglia? This is the
question – a rhetorical one of course – behind the thirty-fourth re-enactment of this historical race, scheduled to take
C place between May 19 and May 22 : it is enough to explain why this legendary competition never lost its appeal. Enzo
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Ferrari summed up this happy, colorful trail of cars, which seems to exist out of time, in a clever two-word definition: ‘traveling
museum’. Only cars that have been constructed between 1927 and 1957 are allowed to take part in the competition today. Back in its
first instalments, Mille Miglia was all about the fastest car, today is more about endurance. Above all, however, Mille Miglia is about
history – not only of car engineering, but of Italy as a whole. This is a race that goes beyond the simple thrill of competitive driving,
to celebrate made-in-Italy excellence. That’s why the Santa Margherita Wine Group chose to sponsor it for the second year in a row.
The history of the Marzotto family is closely connected to the race: in the Fifties the four Marzotto brothers – Vittorio, Umberto,
Giannino and Paolo – regularly competed in the Mille Miglia, often triumphing over established champions such as Fangio and
Ascari. In 1954, Vittorio Marzotto came first in his category, behind the wheel of a Ferrari Sport 500 Mondial, qualifying for
the silver medal overall, just behind Formula 1 champion Alberto Ascari. Just two years earlier, he’d won the prestigious Grand
Prix of Monaco.
This year too the Marzotto family is in attendance. The Santa Margherita Wine Group is putting forward five cars, among the
nearly 450 participating vehicles, from 36 different countries. On the Santa Margherita team there are two Lancia Aurelia B20’s, one
driven by Stefano Marzotto and Mauro Peruzzi, and one driven by Nicolò Marzotto and Santa Margherita’s CEO Ettore Nicoletto;
a Lancia Aurelia B24 driven by Giuseppe Giuliano and Loris Vazzoler, the Group's Tecnhical Director; a Mercedes Gullwing driven
by Formula 1 champion Ivan Capelli and Steve Slater; a Lancia Lambda driven by Alessandro and Sebastiano Marzotto. Stefano
Marzotto explained why his family has a soft spot for Lancia: “First of all, Lancia is a very important brand historically. It enabled
Ferrari to put together a great Formula 1 team. Right after the tragic death of Ascari, Lancia left the racing world and handed his
great inheritance over to Ferrari. That included all the technology that the brand had developed up to that point, in many cases
more advanced than Ferrari’s own. Lancia has always been our family car of choice. We ran our first race on a Lancia Aprilia.”
The Marzotto family, however, brought home its first trophies with Ferrari: Giannino won the Mille Miglia in 1950 and 1953, behind
the wheel of his signature Ferrari ‘Uovo’. “My family and Enzo Ferrari,” Stefano Marzotto continues, “had a very close relationship.
This was back when Ferrari was a very different company from what it is today. Back then, the Marzotto family directly contributed
to the brand’s development. We’d purchase one of their cars, and their owner would pay the workers. Soon we started racing with
their cars.” This sparked some rivalry among the participants to the Mille Miglia. “Enzo was reserving his best cars for the pilots on
his team. We were a bit of a secondary, unofficial team – so when we beat them, it was a big deal.”
In 2016, Mille Miglia is going to re-enact the four-legs of the original route, over four days. The starting line is set in Brescia, on
Thursday May 19 , followed by Rimini the next day and ending in Rome. On the third day drivers will loop back up to Parma,
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returning to Brescia on Sunday May 22 . “It’s our very own Tour de France,” 1000 Miglia’s Andrea Dalledonne happily sums up
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the race, “It’s the best of Italy on show.” He is right, as increasingly participants, partners and punters come from abroad. “I’m really
impressed with the interest we’ve generated internationally – although at times it feels like other countries are more excited about
this race than Italians should be themselves. Eighty percent of our sponsors and racers are foreign. That’s why it’s so important to
us to keep up our strong relationships with Italian partners, such as the Santa Margherita Wine Group.”
Of course, as well as the historical bond between the Marzotto family and 1000 Miglia, there are obvious marketing strategies
put in place as part of the sponsorship agreement. “Many of our wine cellars are located in the areas the race passes by: it’s a new
way for our customers to get to know these places, and observe our work up close.” It is also a way to generate live participation,
the kind of live support that makes Mille Miglia a really special race. A growing, all-encompassing passion that works across
generations and is propelled by a deep awe for these minor miracles of mechanics and design, able to travel faster than 200km/h.
“This is a popular event – in the real sense of the word,” Dalledonne continues, “the kind you see granddads taking their
grandsons to. When you watch competitive cycling there is a quick flash of color and then it’s all over. Mille Miglia is much more
fun to watch because the parade goes on for hours.” And how could you get bored, given the backdrop against which it takes
place? “Driving into Rome last year was incredible,” says Stefano Marzotto: “It was a truly spectacular May evening, the kind
that makes you feel joy deep in your heart, in its utter simplicity.” And if anyone, after all this, still had any qualms regarding the
contemporary value of Mille Miglia, let us answer them with a memorable quote from Giannino Marzotto: “When you celebrate
the past you need to ask yourself why. Mille Miglia represented the technical and social progress of humanity: that’s why this
The 2016 Mille Miglia's circuit re-enactment of the past is still relevant in helping us build a better future.”

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