Italian motoring has never been known for its restraint or modesty. May's Mille Miglia rally has done little to debunk this reputation - it's been kicking up dust on peaceful Italian country roads for the past 80 years. Although the thousand-mile rally has become somewhat more sedate in its old age. It's now more of a vintage car show rather than the high-octane endurance test of its youth, and makes a great spectator sport. The Mille Miglia sees classic cars set off from Brescia on 12 May, then thunder through tranquil Italian villages down to Rome, returning, battered and bruised, to Brescia by 15 May.