Say the word MONZA! And one’s heart fills with joy and excitement you think Formula One, land of Ferrari .. you are in seventh heaven! Well almost! This may not be everyone’s reaction but it certainly is mine! I recently had the opportunity to visit Monza and it doesn’t disappoint and offers far more beyond Formula One racing with its rural charm and interesting historical features.

Monza is approximately 10km North of Milan in the Lombardy region of Italy. It is the capital of the Brianza area of Lombardy. Brianza originally got it’s name from an old saying, “S’è messa un po’ di Brianza in faccia” which is translated as “She’s put some Brianza on her face”, it’s another word for a fake suntan! Before the economic growth of the 1950’s many of the rich would come to the hilly regions of Brianza in the hope of soaking up some sun, it was a place to pass the long hot and humid summers. Since then much has changed; well for starters you can buy fake tan in a tube! secondly social attitudes and customs have changed. The term Brianza is just a vague geographical area north of Milan.

The town of Monza has many buildings and structures of interesting architecture, such as the famous Cathedral (Duomo) with it beautiful green and white facades originally constructed in 1370. In the centre of the town is a square (Piazza Roma) characterised by central large construction of Arengario (tribune). Last but not least Monza Park – is a definite visit for all Formula One fans.

The park is one of the largest of its kind in Europe covering an area of over 7325sq. metres. It has an equestrian school, an 18-hole golf course, polo fields, tennis courts etc. Inside this park is the famous Monza race circuit (Autodromo di Monza).

The park was full of pathways, miles of green grass in wooded surroundings. Being a Sunday, it was a happy scene of families spending a Sunday afternoon playing on the grass, riding family bicycles that sit 4 (don’t know what these are called), some rollerblading on the path, and some returning from a game of polo. If not involved in any of sporting activities many families were seen strolling in the park -with ladies wearing a full mink coat with dark shades- quite a common sight in Lombardy! After walking for over 2 hours through this vast park I finally got to the Autodromo Monza circuit around 4pm.

This is one of the most famous racing circuits in the world, home to the Italian Grand Prix, this is Ferrari country, home of the prancing horse! The original track was built in 1922, which provided a high-speed track with banked curves. Since then many modifications have been made to the track to take into account current F1 regulations, adding chicanes and re-designing some of the curves in a bid to slow speeds down and improve safety. Though with modern technology of today and technical developments the cars are just getting faster and faster.

The F1 Italian grand prix takes place every September. Although I visited Monza in March on a Sunday there appeared to be a mixture of F3000 and touring cars racing, mainly Lancia Integrale, Renault 5 turbo, a Ferrari GT. As this is a general review on Monza itself I will not go into the technical details of the circuit itself as these can be found under Monza circuits.

Moving on, there are a couple of Pizza restaurants and bars at the circuit and a separate concourse area where drivers and teams assemble prior to the races. I managed to enter the area reserved for Press reporters, official photographers, and driver’s families, this gave me a view of the cars as they exit the pits. I think being late on a Sunday afternoon they were not too bothered with security as it was just a small race.
I obtained access to the podium too..yippe! This was the very same Podium Michael Scuhmacher won from pole position, and put Ferrari in the lead. I am so much looking forward to the forthcoming race in 2001, as I will be able to re-live memories of my Monza experience and jumping up and down on the podium! (minus the champagne! as I forgot to take any!)

Walking through the narrow winding streets of Monza on a quiet Sunday afternoon was very relaxing, with lines of houses each with its individual character and charm, many had shutters and veranda’s and balcony’s. It was hard to imagine that this small quaint town receives hundred’s of thousand of visitors that march through the small town at the time of the Grand Prix, it is unbelievable! Outside the Autodromo di Monza, there are not many commercial restaurants and shops open on a Sunday. I stumbled across a small family run coffee shop/bar where the locals would drop by and have a small coffee not even bothering to sit down and be off again! The family’s small dog was also very active at greeting customers. It was not busy with two customers in the 30 minutes I spent there to re-cooperate my tired aching legs before I set back to Monza Station.

If you are fortunate enough to travel by car I would recommend this as there are so many beautiful lakes, valleys and hills in this region which I didn’t get a chance to see. Public transport is limited on Sundays.
I reached Monza by short train journey from Milan. Tickets are usually purchased as single, mine cost IL 2700, which is about £1. Monza rail station is very small and has its own character set in this small quaint town. There are also all day rail tickets you can buy around IL 5000. I had to make a small bus journey from the station to Monza PARK.