Piazza della Loggia (Mille Miglia)

When I pulled these pix from the 'net for my own enjoyment, I failed to note who shot them.  All I can remember is that he participated in the modern Mille Miglia Rally last year as a mechanic.  Props to him for capturing the feel of the square; I would credit his pix properly if I had his name.  (The fourth pic is from a Mercedes-Benz promotional website.)

The Piazza della Loggia, in Brescia, Italy, was where the cars were scrutineered before the Mille Miglia. It's also where the modern Mille Miglia Rally cars are checked-in.  Scrutineering in Europe wasn't as rigorous as "tech inspection" was in the States.  For example, there were no brake checks. Basically, only one question was answered: was the car legal under the rules?

Scrutineering was usually done in a secured area of a race venue's paddock.  But at the Mille there was no paddock.  Race fans and Brescians (?) wandered freely among the cars while officials checked them.  (The teams operated out of garages in and near Brescia, as shown in the bottom pic, and drove the cars from there to the starting platform.)  The Piazza della Loggia was and is the coolest place in motorsports to have your car "teched."

Courtyard of the garage in Manerbio, outside Brescia, that Ferrari rented for the 1957 Mille Miglia.  Among other
activities, body damage, from practice, on the car facing away from the photographer is being repaired (note primer).