Autostrade of Italy

The autostrade (Italian: [ˌautoˈstraːde]; sg.: autostrada, Italian: [ˌautoˈstraːda]) are roads forming the Italian national system of motorways. The total length of the system is about 7,016 kilometres (4,360 mi), as of 30 July 2022. There are also 13 motorway spur routes, which extend for 355 kilometres (221 mi).

Most of the Italian motorways have two lanes per direction/carriageway, but 1,870.2 kilometres (1,162.1 mi) of the Italian motorway network have three lanes per direction/carriageway, 129 kilometres (80 mi) have four lanes per carriageway, and only 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) have five lanes per carriageway. The density is of 22.4 kilometres (13.9 mi) of motorway for every 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) of Italian territory.

Italy was the first country in the world to build motorways reserved for fast traffic and motor vehicles only. The Autostrada dei Laghi ('Lakes Motorway'), the first built in the world, connecting Milan to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore, and now forms the A8 and A9 motorways, was devised by Piero Puricelli and inaugurated in 1924.

In northern and central Italy and in the southern regions of Campania and Apulia, the autostrade mainly consist of tollways managed by Autostrade per l'Italia, a holding company controlled by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. Other operators include ASTM, ATP, and Autostrade Lombarde in the north-west; Autostrada del Brennero, A4 Holding, Concessioni Autostradali Venete [it], and Autovie Venete [it] in the north-east; Strada dei Parchi [it], SALT, SAT, and Autocisa in the center; and CAS in Sicily.

On Italian motorways, the toll applies to almost all motorways not managed by Anas. There are two types of toll systems used on the autostrade: the "closed motorway system" (toll based on the kilometres travelled) or the "open motorway system" (flat-rate toll). Since a motorway could be managed by numerous operators, the toll is only requested when exiting the motorway and not when the motorway operator changes. This system was made possible following Article 14 of Law 531 of 12 August 1982.

The term autostrada was used for the first time in an official document from 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.

Italy was the first country in the world to build motorways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only. 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. 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.

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). 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. 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. Milan was the Italian city in which the most car licenses were issued annually (12,000 in 1928), while the Italian region where the fewest licenses were issued was Sardinia, with only 632 new licenses.