Tuscan-Emilian Apennines · Italy
Futa and Raticosa Passes
SP65Mugello to Pianoro
The last driveable stretch of the 1955 Mille Miglia, crossing the Futa and Raticosa passes through chestnut forest between Florence and Bologna on a road that now carries almost no traffic.
Leaving the Mugello north of Florence, the old SS65 climbs to the Passo della Futa and then the Passo della Raticosa, two Apennine cols that once thundered to Mille Miglia machinery. Today the motorway takes the freight and the pass road is left to drivers: a long, varied sequence of third- and fourth-gear curves through chestnut and beech, past the vast German war cemetery on the Futa, descending finally toward Bologna. It is a road revered for its rhythm and its history rather than for any single view.
Scenery
Best seasons
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Futa and Raticosa Passes on the map34.5 mi · point to point
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Character
Corners
busiest around mile 26Elevation
under 4%4–8%over 8%178.1 – 962.7 mFrom the road
Points of interest3 stops
- Lapide a Giuseppe GaribaldiLandmark6.7 mi in
- Colonna leopoldina di MontecarelliLandmark4.3 mi in
- Lapide a Giulio MasettiLandmark8.8 mi in
Hazards
- Patchy surface and gravel on shaded bends
- Motorcycles at speed on weekends
- Fog on the higher passes
- Ice in winter on the cols
Sources
“The Futa and Raticosa passes are the only real stretches of the Mille Miglia that you can still drive as they were in 1955 and they are magnificent.”
Verified route: mapped from real road geometry and fact-checked by a human editor. How roads get checked
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