Piero Puricelli
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Piero Puricelli (born 4 April 1883 in
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 ...
- died 8 May 1951 in Milan), Count of Lomnago, was an Italian
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
and politician in the first half of the 20th century who was responsible for the ideation, in Italy, of the first motorways in the world. He became a senator of Italy in 1929.


Family life

Piero Puricelli, Count of Lomnago, was born the son of Angelo and Carlotta Combi. He attended the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, from which he graduated in engineering in 1905. Puricelli married Antonietta Tosi; they had one son, Franco.


The first motorway in the world

In the period following the
First World War 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 ...
, after economic development recommenced in Italy, a project to build a motorway was conceived - that is "... a new road reserved exclusively for motor traffic ... ". In 1922 Puricelli designed the project, connecting
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 ...
to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore. On 20 September 1923, King Vittorio Emanuele III inaugurated the first section of the motorway, to
Gallarate Gallarate (; Lombard language, Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people. It is the junction ...
. For its time, this was a futuristic work: the cart and the bicycle were still the dominant means of personal transport in Italy at the time, and there were no more than 85,000 motor vehicles in Italy in 1924, half in Lombardy. On 21 September 1924, the extension to
Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...
was inaugurated. The '' Autostrada dei Laghi'' ("Lakes Motorway") was the first exclusive-use motorway built in the world reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only because the high-speed AVUS road in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
was also used as a race and test track for motor vehicles.


The Monza Racetrack

The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza (Monza National Racetrack) project was assigned to Arturo Mercanti, then director of the Automobile Club of Milan, and the engineers Alfredo Rosselli and Piero Puricelli. The overall length was , comprising a loop track, and a road track. The Automobile Club commissioned the construction of the racetrack in January 1922 to commemorate its twenty-fifth anniversary. Work began on 15 May and was completed in just 110 days. Pietro Bordino and Felice Nazzaro completed the first lap of the track on 28 July in a Fiat 570. The national racetrack was the third permanent circuit in the world, preceded only by the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...
in the United States and by the English one at Brooklands, no longer in existence today. The choice of Monza was the result of studies seeking a location near Milan, to limit the "travel" costs for the maintenance of the racetrack. Setting aside alternative sites near Gallarate and Gagnola (a peripheral location in Milan), the directors of the ACI chose the park at the Villa Reale in Monza.


Political career

Puricelli was appointed Senator on 26 February 1929, proposed by the Italian National Fascist Party and remained in office until his removal by the Alta Corte di Giustizia per le Sanzioni contro il Fascismo (High Court of Justice for Sanctions against Fascism) in 1945, for having been one of the "senators held responsible for maintaining fascism and making war possible, both by their votes and by their individual actions, including the propaganda exercised outside and inside the Senate". In July 1946 he was acquitted of the charge of collaboration.


Appointments

Among the appointments Piero Puricelli held are: * Vice-president of the Bureau International des Expositions * 1929 President of the public companies La strada and Autostrade * 1931 President of the International Union of Trade Shows


Italian honours

* Laurea honoris causa in ingegneria dal Politecnico di Milano - nastrino per uniforme ordinaria (Honorary degree in engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan) - 1927


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puricelli, Piero 1883 births 1951 deaths Engineers from Milan National Fascist Party politicians 20th-century Italian engineers