The road between Cerlongo and Guidizzolo, in the communal territory of Cavriana, was the location of Alfonso de Portago's fatal accident in the 1957 Mille Miglia, where 11 people died.

De Portago's 4.0-litre Ferrari 335 S blew a tyre and crashed into the roadside crowd while travelling at 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph).

Spinning out of control, the Ferrari hit a channel on the left side of the road, then veered back into the onlookers.

Two of the dead children were hit by a concrete highway milestone that was ripped from the ground by the car and thrown into the crowd.

The body of de Portago was in two sections, and co-driver Edmund Nelson was badly disfigured beneath the upside down vehicle.