The Coppa Ciano was an automobile race held 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 ...

. Originally referred to as Coppa Montenero or Circuito Montenero, the Coppa Ciano name was officially in use between 1927 and 1939.

History

During the years immediately following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

several road circuits were created in Italy. These included the Montenero Circuit at

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

, which became home for the annual Coppa Montenero from its inauguration in 1921. In the beginning it was only a local affair and the organizers quickly found themselves in financial troubles. In 1923 the event was taken over by the Automobile Club of Italy and the future was secured. In 1927, the Livorno-born politician

Costanzo Ciano Costanzo Ciano, 1st Count of Cortellazzo (; 30 August 1876 – 26 June 1939) was an Italian naval officer and politician. He was the father of Galeazzo Ciano. Biography Early life Born at Livorno, he was the son of Raimondo Ciano and his wife, ...

donated a victory trophy: the Coppa Ciano. At first, this was awarded to the victor in a separate

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

race, run within a week of the Coppa Montenero. In 1929, however, the Coppa Ciano was merged into the main event and at the same time became the name most often used. The driver Emilio Materassi won 4 years in a row 1925-1928 and earned the nickname "King of Montenero". In the 1930s, Italian

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

driver Tazio Nuvolari won this race five times, more than any other driver. In his 1936 victory he made his way through the field, beating the otherwise superior German cars. This victory was one of the reasons leading to the

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix () is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, motor racing Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been held since 1921 ...

being held at the Montenero circuit in 1937, instead of the usual venue,

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. The 1939 race was run to Voiturette regulations and became the last before World War II stopped all racing for many years. In 1947 the 20th and final edition of the Coppa Montenero was run, with 1500 cc unsupercharged cars. At that point, due to Costanzo Ciano's connections with the now abolished Fascist regime, it was no longer called Coppa Ciano.

Coppa Ciano by year

External links

Circuito del Montenero - Coppa Ciano
(Italian)

1931,1932, 1935-1939

The Formula One Archives

when Nuvolari waved the steering wheel at the crowd...

References

{{reflist Auto races in Italy Recurring sporting events established in 1927 Recurring events disestablished in 1939 Pre-World Championship Grands Prix

History

Coppa Ciano by year

See also

External links

References