In May Italy holds two historic races. The Mille Miglia 1000 mile car rally, defined by Enzo Ferrari as the world's greatest road race, starts May 5 and the Giro d'Italia, Italy's big bike race similar to the Tour de France, starts May 8. It's fun to see the cars or bikes arrive in one of the stops.
Mille Miglia: Calling itself the most beautiful course in the world, the Mille Miglia starts and ends in Piazza della Loggia in the city of Brescia. The race goes from Brescia to Rome and back with stops in several beautiful cities such as Bologna and Urbino.
Mille Miglia Information
Giro d'Italia: The 2010 race covers more than 3400 kilometers starting in the Piemonte region with the first day ending in Cuneo, heading south, then finally back to the north ending in the historic city of Verona.
2010 Giro d'Italia stage map and details
I’ll be watching the leg on May 14 as it goes through the Lunigiana, northern Tuscany.