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DRIVING

‘Autostrada del Sole’: 8 of the best nicknames for Italy’s motorways

Drivers in Italy may be familiar with some of the country's major 'autostrade', but do you know how Italians refer to them colloquially?

Published: 15 February 2024 14:12 CET
A1 motorway
A view of the A1 motorway in April 2006. Photo by PACO SERINELLI / AFP

The Italian peninsula is criss-crossed by several motorways, which amount to around 7,000 kilometres of overall road network.

These autostrade may appear in official records as A1, A2, A3 and so on, but Italian motorists often refer to them differently. 

Autostrada del Sole

Maps may call it A1 but to most Italians the 760-kilometre motorway connecting Milan with Naples is simply the Autostrada del Sole, or Sun Motorway.

The motorway’s nickname is a homage to the southern city’s sunny and warm weather conditions nearly all year round. 

The Autostrada del Sole is usually one of the most crowded Italian motorways on and around national public holidays and long weekends.

Autostrada dei Vini

The A21 connects Turin, Piedmont with Brescia, Lombardy, crossing one of the most prestigious wine regions in the country. 

READ ALSO: The worst Italian driving habits – according to Italians

As the road cuts through the vineyards where Italian excellencies such as Barolo, Barbera and Moscato d’Asti are produced, it just feels right that it be known as Autostrada dei Vini, or Motorway of the Wines.

Autostrada dei Fiori

The A10 runs right along Liguria’s coastline, connecting Genoa to Ventimiglia, which sits some 8 kilometres away from the French border.

It is aptly nicknamed Autostrada dei Fiori, or Motorway of the Flowers, as the Ligurian riviera is known for its flower crops, with the seaside town of Sanremo being often referred to as the citta’ dei fiori (or ‘city of flowers’).

Autostrada dei Parchi

The A24 connects Rome with Teramo, Abruzzo. 

It is known as the ‘Motorway of the Parks’ as it runs close to the Monti Simbruini and Sirente-Velino natural parks and directly across the Gran Sasso national park. 

It is considered one of the most scenic motorways in Italy as it passes through a series of picturesque Apennine landscapes.

There are even multiple hours of dashboard footage showing what driving on the A24 is like on Youtube.

Autostrada del Sale

The A29 stretches for around 115 kilometres between Palermo and Mazara del Vallo, on Sicily’s southwestern coast.  

The motorway passes through the town of Marsala, which is known for its sprawling salt pans, hence the nickname Autostrada del Sale, or Salt Motorway.

Autostrada dei Due Mari

The A16, or ‘Two Seas Motorway’, connects Naples with Bari, bridging the 172-kilometre stretch of land separating the Tyrrhenian sea from the Adriatic. 

READ ALSO: Is it worth importing your car to Italy?

Interestingly, France has its own Autoroute des Deux Mers, connecting the southern cities of Bordeaux, Toulouse and Narbonne, but it’s not clear who stole from who.

Serenissima

The A4 crosses the Po Plain horizontally, connecting four of northern Italy’s major cities: Turin, Milan, Venice and Trieste. 

It is commonly known as Serenissima (‘Most Serene’) – a nod to the former maritime Republic of Venice, which was traditionally referred to as La Serenissima.

Autostrada dei Laghi

The A8 (Milan-Varese) and A9 (Milan-Como) are known under the collective nickname of Autostrada dei Laghi (or ‘Motorway of the Lakes’) as they connect Lombardy’s capital to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore.

A bit of trivia for your next Italian general knowledge quiz: the A8 was Italy’s first motorway (it opened in 1924).

Do you know of any other nicknames for Italian motorways? Let us know in the comments below.

Member comments

  1. The A15 from Parma to La Spezia ought to be known as the Autostrada dei Lavori, since there is always some repair work going on, usually major. To be fair, it is an ambitious construction running right across the heart of the Apennini between Toscana and Emiglia Romagna, so it’s a sequence of bridges and tunnels.

  2. I always heard that the motorway around Genoa through the tunnels and bridges is known as the Autostrade del Morti – anyone else heard this?

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For members

DRIVING

EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

The EU has agreed to extend the number of driving offences for which motorists from other member states can be fined for and to make it easier for authorities to chase up the fines and make foreign drivers pay.

Published: 13 May 2024 17:28 CEST
EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

In the last voting session of this term, in April, the European Parliament passed new rules to ensure drivers who breach local traffic rules in another EU member state are found and fined.

The cross-border enforcement (CBE) directive was first adopted in 2015 after it was found that non-resident drivers were more likely to commit speeding offences. The European Commission estimated that in 2008, foreign drivers accounted for about 5 percent of road traffic in the EU but committed around 15 percent of speeding offences.

The directive partially improved the situation, but according to the Commission 40 percent of traffic violations committed in other EU countries are still unpunished “because the offender is not identified or because the fine is not enforced”.

In March 2023, the Commission therefore proposed updating existing measures.

New rules extend the type of offences that will trigger assistance from another member state and seek to improve collaboration among national authorities to identify and fine offenders.

The European Parliament and Council agreed in March on the final text of the directive, which is now being formally approved by the two institutions.

André Sobczak, Secretary-General at Eurocities, a group representing European cities in Brussels, said: “While the final outcome of the discussions is not ideal, we are pleased that EU policymakers have at least put the issue of the enforcement of local traffic rules on foreign vehicles on the table. As we approach an election year, I believe such a practical example can demonstrate why a European approach is necessary to address local issues.”

Which traffic offences are covered?

The previous directive covered eight driving misconducts that would require member states to cooperate: speeding, not wearing seat belts, failing to stop at a red traffic light, drink-driving, driving under the effect of drugs, not wearing a helmet (motorcycles / scooters), using a forbidden lane and using a mobile phone or other communication devices while driving.

The Commission proposed to add to the list not keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front, dangerous overtaking, dangerous parking, crossing one or more solid white lines, driving the wrong way down a one way street, not respecting the rules on “emergency corridors” (a clear lane intended for priority vehicles), and using an overloaded vehicle.

The Parliament and Council agreed to these and added more offences: not giving way to emergency service vehicles, not respecting access restrictions or rules at a rail crossings, as well as hit-and-run offences.

Despite calls from European cities, the new directive does not cover offences related to foreign drivers avoiding congestion charges or low emission zones. In such cases, information about vehicle registration can only be shared among countries with bilateral agreements.

Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General at POLIS, a network of cities and regions working on urban transport, called on the next European Commission to take other local traffic offences, such as breaches of low emission zones, “fully at heart”.

Collaboration among national authorities

For the traffic violations covered by the directive, EU countries have to help each other to find the liable driver. The new directive further clarifies how.

Member states will have to use the European vehicle and driving licence information system (Eucaris) to get the data of the offender.

National authorities will have 11 months from the date of the violation to issue the fine to a vehicle from another EU member state. However, they will not have to resort to agencies or private entities to collect the fine. This was requested by the European Parliament to avoid scams or leaks of personal data.

Authorities in the country of the offender will have to reply to requests from another EU member state within two months.

When the amount of the fine is more than €70, and all options to have it paid have been exhausted, the member state where the violation occurred can ask the country of the offender to take over the collection.

The person concerned will be able to request follow-up documents in a different official EU language.

When will the new rules will be enforced?

Now that the EU Parliament has passed the law, the EU Council has to do the same, although there is no date set for when that will happen. Once the directive is adopted, EU countries will have 30 months to prepare for implementation.

Last year the Commission also proposed a new directive on driving licenses, but negotiations on the final text of this file will only take place after the European elections.

This article has been produced in collaboration with Europe Street news.

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