F1 2023 Insider's Guide No. 15 – Italy
31 AUG 23
One of motor racing’s spiritual homes, Italy always brings the glamour to the Formula One season. The Italian Grand Prix takes place in Monza and the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One® Team will be powering ahead here with its 2023 F1 campaign. Monza is a classic with a history stretching back to 1921. The Italian Grand Prix has run every year since the modern F1 championship began in the 1950s and has seen the greats like Alberto Ascari score victories. Race goers would be wise to stay on in Italy for a late summer of spritzes, gelato, architecture and sunny beaches.
What is the most picturesque coastline in Italy?
Positano and Amalfi – Dramatic roads hugging the cliffside, with vespa drivers beeping their horns, waves crashing against rock, secluded beaches, seafood trattorias, and tumbledown villages - the Amalfi coast has it all. Positano offers nightlife near the shore and in the hills above the town the smell of lemons ripening on the trees fills the air with a citrus scent. The noted Borgo Santandrea hotel recently opened above the picturesque Conca dei Marini where fishermen power off into the bay to collect all the ingredients for your fritto misto.
Where can you experience the thrill of a first generation car test track?
Lingotto Factory Roof, Torino – The Italy of the futurists and the white hot modernism of a new industrial world made its presence felt in a corner of Turin that will forever be associated with the dynamism of the car. The Lingotto factory went up in the 1920s as a symbol of a thrusting new nation that was looking to the future. The chef d’oeuvre was the rooftop test track, banked, incomparable to anything anywhere else in the world, a place where cars could speed round in the sky; a taste of the future. And you can explore it today.
What is Tuscany's quirkiest event?
The Palio, Siena – Fret not about missing the annual race, held on the 2nd July and 16th of August 2023 - once you know about its history and you’ve visited its location, there is no question you’ll be booking flights to return next year. Siena’s town square is taken over for the world’s greatest bareback horse race, the townsfolk dressing up in the clothes of the middle ages to celebrate the heritage of this unique Tuscan spectacle. Once seen, never forgotten - nevertheless visit Siena to see the square, the photos on restaurant walls; talk to people about it, learn about the beautiful town and its people and its horses - and you will want to be at the Palio every year.
