Targa Florio

It has been almost four years since the Targa Florio came through Sciacca last, and I had gone down to see it with Claudio and Giusy. It was a wild ride, and Claudio managed to get his Smart Car into the procession of antique and luxury cars going to the main piazza in town, with Giusy hanging on for dear life in the trunk of the car. There we saw a full collection of Bugatti's, Ferrari's, Morgans, and other rare and exotic cars. This time, when I saw in the paper they were again making a stop at Piazza Scandialloto, I went down with a lot of anticipation.

Of course, being an American, I got there on time. The cars were an hour and a half late. But they finally did arrive, at least some of them, including the cartoonish little old Fiat truck above,

and the wonderful rare Ferrari at the right. But that was almost it. There were a few more Ferrari, and some other exotic cars, but as it turned out, the main group of ninety cars skipped the Sciacca stop, and went on to their evening hotel where they could tune their cars for the competition the next day.

And yes, the Targa Florio is a competition, a timed race like the rallies they have in the states, and it is named after the Florio family, one of the biggest names in the making of Marsala wine. They have holdings all over the island, including a mansion on the grounds of the Selinunte ruins, and they sponsor the rally around Sicily every year.

The saddest part of the rally, as far as I was concerned, being a patriotic American, was the way in which the only American car in the Rally appeared at the Piazza. Oh well.