The Monza motor racing circuit, which the locals call the Autodromo di Monza, lives to fight another day, or maybe more. The state authorities of Lombardy, of which Milan is the capital, has overturned an order made against the circuit last November by the Court of Milan to drastically reduce noise at the track. Last March the state governor, Roberto Formigoni, and his ruling junta, turned the court ruling on its head and ordered that the track need only respect national anti-noise laws, which stipulate an average 70 decibels. So Monza went back to business as usual after a long struggle.
A kind of Sword of Damocles has hung over the historic autodromo since 2001, when the Biassono anti-noise committee, made up of three local families, filed a civil suit against SIAS, who operate the track, and its owners, the Monza and Milan municipal authorities, complaining of excessive noise. The claim was upheld last November by the Court of Milan.
In reprieving Monza, Formigoni said, “We want to achieve two objectives: ensure the Monza circuit can carry on its business in the best way possible, and protect the health of all citizens.”
Italian law calls for an average of 70 decibels from such noise sources, while a modern Formula One car peaks at 140 db. But the law also allows an annual 37 days on which the average 70-db limit can be exceeded. An annual 250 races and practice days are held at Monza, at which pioneer 20th-century motor racing aces Felice Nazzaro and Vincenzo Lancia dug the first sod to set construction in motion in early 1922.
