The Autostrada A1, nicknamed ''Autostrada del Sole'' ("Sun Motorway"), is the oldest European Highway and the most important in Italy. The highway links the largest cities on the Tyrrhenian side of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

. At 754 km, it is the longest Italian

autostrada The Autostrade (; singular ) are roads forming the Italian national system of motorways. The total length of the system is about . In North and Central Italy, the Autostrade mainly consists of tollways managed by Autostrade per l'Italia, a ...

, running parallel to ''Autostrada Adriatica'' A14. It is a part of the E35 and E45 European routes. The A1 reduced travel time between Milan and Naples from two days to just seven to eight hours. The mountain crossing from

is known as Variante di Valico.

History

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, successive administrations wanted this major infrastructure project to be completed as quickly as possible, as it would be a great boost for the national economy. Construction began in 1956, and the highway was opened to traffic by then-prime minister

Aldo Moro Aldo Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July 1 ...

on 4 October 1964. The section between Rome and Naples was originally designated A2, but it was incorporated into A1 following the opening of the bypass from

Fiano Romano Fiano Romano is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy, approximately north of that city. Fiano Romano borders the following municipalities: Capena, Civitella San Paolo, Montelibretti, Montopoli di Sabina, ...

San Cesareo San Cesareo ( la, Ad Statuas or ''Statio ad Statuas'') is a town and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome. In ancient times, it was on the Via Labicana The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east-southeast from Rome. I ...

on 21 July 1988.

Route

External links

{{Autostrade A01 Transport in Lombardy Transport in Emilia-Romagna Transport in Tuscany Transport in Umbria Transport in Lazio Transport in Campania