The Autostrada A1 or Autostrada del Sole ("Sun motorway") is the longest () ''

autostrada The ''autostrade'' (; : ''autostrada'', ) are roads forming the Italian national system of motorways. The total length of the system is about , as of 30 July 2022. There are also 13 motorway spur routes, which extend for . Most of the Itali ...

'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

for "

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

") in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, linking some of the largest cities of the country:

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. The Autostrada A1 is located in the

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

and

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

. It is a part of the E35 and E45 European routes.

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 Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and prominent member of Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy (DC) and its centre-left wing. He served as prime minister of Italy in five terms from December 1963 ...

on 4 October 1964. The A1 reduced driving time between Milan and Naples from two days to just seven to eight hours. 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 the city. Fiano Romano borders the following municipalities: Capena, Civitella San Paolo, Montelibretti, Montopoli di Sabina, Na ...

to San Cesareo on 21 July 1988.

Route

A1-A51 connection

Piazzale Corvetto connection

Variante di Valico

Variante di Valico (number A1 var) is a deviation of the Autostrada A1 opened to traffic on 23 December 2015, between Sasso Marconi and Barberino di Mugello in

central Italy Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...

. The entire project covers a length of 62.5 km, of which 37 km involved adding a third lane on each side of the existing A1 and 25 km the construction of the new section, most of which consists of viaducts and tunnels, the longest tunnel being 8.7 km in length. The new section runs parallel to the central part of the

Autostrada A1. The earlier motorway remains open, providing an alternative route. The A1 splits up north of the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

, the two sections rejoining south of the mountains.

A1 Northern Rome connection

A1 Southern Rome connection

Capodichino connection

Sasso Marconi - SS 64 connection

References

External links

{{Autostrade A01 Transport infrastructure completed in 1964 1964 establishments in Italy Transport in Lombardy Transport in Emilia-Romagna Transport in Tuscany Transport in Umbria Transport in Lazio Transport in Campania