Italy became the first country to inaugurate motorways reserved for motor vehicles with A1. The Milano-Laghi motorway was devised by Piero Puricelli, a civil engineer and entrepreneur. He received the first authorization to build a public-utility fast road in 1921, and completed the construction between 1924 and 1926. By the end of the 1930s, over 400 kilometers of multi- and dual-single-lane motorways were constructed throughout Italy, linking cities and rural towns.
Speed
Italy's autostrade have a standard speed limit of 130 km/h for cars. Limits for other vehicles are lower. Legal provisions allow operators to set the limit to 150 km/h on their concessions on a voluntary basis if the following conditions are met: three lanes in each direction and a working SICVE, or Safety Tutor, speed-camera system that measure the average speed. In 2016, no road was utilizing this possibility. The first speed limit, to, was enacted in November 1973 as a result of the 1973 oil crisis. In October 1977, a graduated system was introduced: cars of above had a speed limit, cars of 900-1299 cc had a limit of, those of 600-899 cc could drive at, and those of or less had a maximum speed of. In July 1988 a blanket speed limit of was imposed on all cars above 600 cc by the short lived PSDI government. In September 1989 this was increased to for cars above and for smaller ones.
List of ''bretelle'' and ''raccordi autostradali''
Some autostrade are called bretelle, diramazioni or raccordi because they are short and have few exits. Bretelle, diramazioni or raccordi are generally connections between two motorways, or connections between motorways and important cities without a motorway. They have the same number as one of the two autostrade linked, a combination of the numbers of the two autostrade linked, or the number of the main autostrada.
RA stands for Raccordo autostradale, a relatively short spur route that connects an autostrada to a nearby city or tourist resort not directly served by the motorway. These spurs are owned and managed by ANAS. Some spurs are toll-free motorways, but most are type-B or type-C roads. All RA have separate carriageways with two lanes in each direction. Generally, they do not have an emergency lane.
Strade extraurbane principali
Type B highway, commonly but unofficially known as superstrada, is a divided highway with at least two lanes in each direction, paved shoulder on the right, no cross-traffic and no at-grade intersections. Access restrictions on such highways are exactly the same as autostrade. Signage at the beginning and the end of the highways is the same, except the background color is blue instead of green. The general speed limit on strade extraurbane principali is 110 km/h. Strade extraurbane principali are not tolled. All strade extraurbane principali are owned and managed by ANAS, and directly controlled by the Italian government or by the regions.
