Targa Florio, one of the icons of motor racing.

Anyone who likes the smell of gasoline and visits Sicily, Italy, can, in addition to many "smelly monuments", visit the track and facilities of one of the most famous car races in the world, the Targa Florio.

The Targa Florio was a car race held in the Madonie Mountains of Sicily, with the start and finish in the town of Cerda.

The race was founded in 1906 by wine merchant and racing driver Vincenzo Florio. The first edition of the race was also held in 1906.

The race was extremely demanding and dangerous. It was run in mountainous terrain on narrow roads with an unpaved surface, later partially asphalted, and the track in its longest version had more than eight hundred sharp bends.

The first woman to compete in the Targa Florio was Czech-born Eliška Junková in 1927. Unfortunately, in her first appearance, she retired in the second round. The following year, in 1928, she finished fifth overall and first among amateur competitors.

In 1973, the Targa Florio was removed from the World Sports Car Championship race series calendar for safety reasons, and since 1977 it has only been run as part of the Italian Rally Championship.

The car manufacturer Porsche has the most victories in the history of this race (eleven), and they named their Porsche Targa car model after the race.

The Targa Florio has been held as a separate race a total of sixty-one times, with the first edition taking place in 1906 and the last in 1977.

In 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918 the race was interrupted due to World War I, in 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945 due to World War II. The break continued in 1946 and 1947.

The most famous car brands such as Porsche, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Fiat, Bugatti, Lancia, Maserati, Osella, Chevron and others participated in the races.

The first winner was Alessandro Cagno in 1906, and the last was the pair of riders Raffaele Restimo and Alfonso Merendino in 1977.

Nowadays, the Sicilian Italians have become aware of the history of the famous Targa Florio race, and in 2025 the reconstruction of the entire facilities of the old circuit began (hence the lights in the photos inside the buildings). I believe they will see it through to the end.

Those who really want to do it can drive the legendary circuit. There are signs with a map of the circuit at places along the route and brown signs with the words Targa Florio along the route.