After the inauguration of the exhibition on the Autostrada dei Laghi at Palazzo Lombardia, which took place last Thursday, the second event for the centenary of the Autostrada dei Laghi was held yesterday at Villa Recalcati, headquarters of the Province of Varese. Promoted by Maurizio Gandini and the A8 Cento committee, this event included various interventions related to motorsport. Among these, the presentation of the biographical novel “Full throttle and no brakes” dedicated to the pilot Villoresi’s Teethwritten by the great-grandson Valerio Villoresi.
The Autostrada dei Laghi exhibition in Villa Recalcati in Varese
At Villa Recalcati an exhibition similar to that of Palazzo Lombardia was set up for yesterday only. The latter, on the contrary, can be visited until July 27th. The panels illustrated the history of the motorway designed byengineer Puricelli, who also designed the Monza Circuit. The highway was inaugurated on September 21, 1924 a Lainate by King Vittorio Emanuele III, with the passage of the first car, a Lancia Trikappa, on the brand new asphalt. It is the first motorway, in the true sense of the term, in the world. An infrastructure reserved solely for cars and designed to connect Milan with Varese and the surrounding tourist resorts in the shortest possible time. It was managed by a dealer, the company. an. Autostrade, which collected the transit toll. The latter included a return fare or a season ticket, which were certainly not cheap. Along the motorway there were petrol stations, like those displayed in the exhibition which belong to the collection of the Fisogni Museum.
During the morning, there were various speeches and greetings from the authorities present. Among these, the Prefect of Varese, Salvatore Rosario Pasquarielloand the President of ACI Varese, Giuseppe Redaelli. Redaelli announced that on September 21st, for the centenary, a concert will be organized celebration at the Lainate track, in the ACI Vallelunga safe driving center. There will be a parade of cars representing technological evolution from 1924 to 2024. More details will be released soon.
During the period of this anniversary – the President of Aci Varese was keen to underline – it is important to talk about road safety. And in this morning’s meeting, the presence of the Falcone Institute allowed us to underline this need for shared responsibility among all road users and also the Prefect of Varese who for a couple of years has been taking a truly significant action to encourage greater responsibility for all behaviors spoke of an educational community inviting all of us to be present so that we can have greater respect for the roads.
Three Formula 1 cars
Maurizio Gandini combined the centenary of the Autostrada with initiatives related to engines, titling the day “History of speed… an emotion in Villa Recalcati”. Among the speakers, those of Sky journalist Biagio Maglienti and Mauro Raccanello. Maglienti spoke about the “F1 Paddock from another perspective” and Raccanello shared his friendship with Enzo Ferrari and the emotional presentation of the F40.
In the courtyard of the villa, a 1962 Formula Junior Lotus 20 driven by Jo Siffer and three splendid Formula One models driven by three motoring aces were on display: Riccardo Patrese, Alan Jones e Graham Hill. These single-seaters participated in this year’s historic Monte Carlo Grand Prix race. And they are all cars owned by the lawyer Nicola Sculco.
Patrese’s was one Arrows A/1with which he participated in the Formula 1 World Championship in 1978. Then there was the Shadow DN1 of the two-time Formula One world champion Graham Hill who used it in the 1973 F1 championship. And finally the Surtees TS/19 with which Alan Jones (world champion in 1980) raced in the 1976 world championship, and which was started up for the occasion by the mechanics present. I’ll just let you imagine the roar emitted by the exhausts of this Ford V8 capable of 520 hp.
