Autostrada A8 (Italy)

Autostrada A8
Autostrada A8
Autostrada dei Laghi
Route information
	Part of E35 and E62
	Maintained by ANAS
Length	43.6 km (27.1 mi)
Existed	1924–present
Major junctions
From	Milan
	A4 in Milan; A50 in Milan; A52 in Milan; A9 in Lainate; A26 in Gallarate; A60 in Varese
To	Varese
Location
Country	Italy
Regions	Lombardy
Highway system
	Roads in Italy; Autostrade; State; Regional; Provincial; Municipal;

The Autostrada A8 or Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway") is an autostrada (Italian for "motorway") 43.6 kilometres (27.1 mi) long in northern Italy connecting Milan to Varese (on the Lake of Varese) and connecting Milan to Gallarate and Sesto Calende on Lake Maggiore and on Lake Monate (now part of the Gallarate - Gattico connection, also part of the Autostrada dei Laghi).

Autostrada A8 is commonly defined, together with the Autostrada A9, as the "Autostrada dei Laghi". The Autostrada A9 connects to the Autostrada A8 at Lainate, near Milan, and it reaches Como, on the Lake Como, and Chiasso, on the Italy–Switzerland border, where it connects to the Swiss road network. Built in 1924, Autostrada dei Laghi is the first motorway built in the world.^[1]^[2]

On 26 September 2023, the 5th lane in each direction in the Milan-Lainate section was opened to traffic, thus making the A8 the first motorway in Italy with 5 lanes in each direction.^[3]

History

The King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy inaugurated the Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"; now parts of the Autostrada A8 and Autostrada A9), the first motorway built in the world,^[1]^[2] on 21 September 1924, aboard the royal Lancia Trikappa.

The term "autostrada" was used for the first time in an official document in 1922 in which the engineer Piero Puricelli presented the project for the Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"); with that term, it indicated those roads characterized by a straight path (as far as possible), without obstacles, characterized by a high achievable speed, passable only by motor vehicles (Italian: autoveicoli, hence the name) aimed at the rapid transport of goods and people.^[4]

Italy was the first country in the world to build motorways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only.^[1]^[2] The Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"), the first built in the world, connecting Milan to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore, and now parts of the Autostrada A8 and Autostrada A9, was devised by Piero Puricelli and was inaugurated in 1924.^[2] Piero Puricelli, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, received the first authorization to build a public-utility fast road in 1921, and completed the construction (one lane in each direction) between 1924 and 1926. Piero Puricelli decided to cover the expenses by introducing a toll.^[5]

It was a futuristic project because there were few cars in circulation in Italy at that time. In 1923 there were a total of 53,000 cars circulating on Italian roads (between 1928 and 1929 there was a significant increase, as they went from 142,000 cars in circulation to 173,000 respectively).^[6] In 1927 there were 135,900 cars circulating in Italy, corresponding to one vehicle for every 230 inhabitants, while today the ratio is 1 car for every 1.6 inhabitants.^[6] The most motorized Italian regions were those of northern Italy and central Italy, with Lombardy at the top of the list with over 38,700 cars in 1923, while at the bottom of the list was Basilicata with 502 cars.^[6] Milan was the Italian city in which the most car licences were issued annually (12,000 in 1928), while the Italian region where the fewest licences were issued was Sardinia, with only 632 new licences.^[6]

Route

Exit	↓km↓	↑km↑	Province	European route
MILAN – VARESE Autostrada dei Laghi
Milan Viale Certosa Cavalcavia del Ghisallo - San Siro Stadium	-1.0	43.6	MI
E64 Torino - Venezia	-0.9	43.5
Cascina Merlata Raccordo per A4 Torino e A50	0.5	42.1
Fieramilano Tangenziale Nord di Milano	2.0	40.6
Toll gate Milano Nord	5.6	38.0
Tangenziale Ovest di Milano	6.8	36.8		E35 E62
Lainate-Arese	7.2	36.4
Rest area "Villoresi Ovest"	7.6	35.0
Lainate	8.1	34.5
Como - Chiasso	10.3	32.3
Origgio ovest	14.0	28.4	VA	E62
Legnano	16.3	26.3	MI
Castellanza	18.0	24.6	VA
Busto Arsizio Strada statale 336 dell'Aeroporto della Malpensa Milan Malpensa Airport	24.5	18.2
Lentate sul Seveso	26.0	15.0
Gallarate	29.9	12.7
Diramazione Gallarate-Gattico	30.9	11.7
Toll gate Gallarate Nord	31.9	11.7
Cavaria	33.9	8.7
Solbiate Arno	35.7	6.9
Castronno	40.1	2.5
Rest area "Brughiera"	40.7	1.9
Tangenziale di Varese Gazzada Schianno Morazzone Varese est	41.7	0.9
Azzate - Buguggiate Varese ovest del Chiostro di Voltorre: Lake Varese	42.0	0.6
Raccordo Gazzada-Varese	42.6	0.0

A8/A26 Gallarate-Gattico connection

Exit	↓km↓	↑km↑	Province	European route
AUTOSTRADA A8/A26 Gallarate - Gattico connection
Milano - Varese	0.0	24.0	VA	E62
Toll gate Gallarate Ovest	2.5	21.5
Besnate	4.0	20.0
Rest area "Verbano"	6.1	17.9
Sesto Calende - Vergiate del Sempione: Lake Maggiore del Lago di Monate: Lake Monate	11.9	12.1
Castelletto Ticino Ticinese del Sempione: Lake Maggiore	17.9	6.1	NO
Gravellona Toce - Genova	24.0	0.0	NO

References

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Lenarduzzi, Thea (30 January 2016). "The motorway that built Italy: Piero Puricelli's masterpiece". The Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "The "Milano-Laghi" by Piero Puricelli, the first motorway in the world". Retrieved 10 May 2022.
^ "Milano Laghi diventa la prima autostrada a 5 corsie (ma solo per 4,4 Km)" (in Italian). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
^ "Le prime autostrade su Strade ANAS" (in Italian). Retrieved 1 March 2024.
^ "1924 Mile Posts". Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2006.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "Storia dell'automobile: quando c'era un'auto ogni 230 abitanti" (in Italian). Retrieved 1 March 2024.

External links

Media related to Autostrada A8 (Italy) at Wikimedia Commons

[independent-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Lenarduzzi, Thea (30 January 2016). "The motorway that built Italy: Piero Puricelli's masterpiece". The Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2022.

[motorwebmuseum-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "The "Milano-Laghi" by Piero Puricelli, the first motorway in the world". Retrieved 10 May 2022.

[3] "Milano Laghi diventa la prima autostrada a 5 corsie (ma solo per 4,4 Km)" (in Italian). Retrieved 26 September 2023.

[4] "Le prime autostrade su Strade ANAS" (in Italian). Retrieved 1 March 2024.

[5] "1924 Mile Posts". Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2006.

[focus.it-6] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d "Storia dell'automobile: quando c'era un'auto ogni 230 abitanti" (in Italian). Retrieved 1 March 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Motorways in Italy
Roads in Italy
Major routes	A1 A2 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A11 A12 A13 A14 A15 A16 ~~A17~~ A18 A19 A20 A21 A22 A23 A24 A25 A26 A27 A28 A29 A30 A31 A32 A33 A34 A35 A36 A53 A91 Catania-Siracusa Sistiana-Rabuiese SPV
Beltways	A50, A51, A52, A58 (Milan) A54 (Pavia) A55 (Turin) A56 (Naples) A57 (Venice) A59 (Como) A60 (Varese) A90–GRA (Rome) RA 1 (Bologna) RA 4 (Reggio Calabria) RA 15 (Catania)
Road tunnels	T1 Mont Blanc T2 Great St Bernard T3 Bargagli-Ferriere Tunnel T4 Fréjus
Junctions	RA 2 RA 3 RA 5 RA 6 RA 7 RA 8 RA 9 RA 10 RA 11 RA 12 RA 13 RA 14 RA 16 ~~RA 17~~