The Vallelunga circuit, situated aroumd 30 kilometres to the north of Rome, was born in 1951, the product of a local entrepreneur who had a passion for horses. Originally a dirt oval, in the early 1950s the circuit staged mostly motorcycle races on the sandy track surface.

The first major upgrade came in 1957, when a project championed by renowned racing driver Piero Taruffi saw an asphalt course laid down within the footprint of the small oval.

The circuit was significantly extended in 1961 to create a new international layout – including the impressive removal of the side of a hill at the Curva Grande section.

The Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) purchased the circuit I 1967, and modernisation followed. A new infield pit complex was built, and in 1971, the course direction was changed to run clockwise, along with a reprofiled first corner.

In 1974, the circuit attracted the European Touring Car Championship for the first time, with the series making regular visits thereafter.

By the early 2000s the circuit was looking a little tired and so a major refurbishment and extension began, opening in 2005.

A new race control tower was built, along with a new 1 km eastern loop, taking the total circuit length to 4.085 km.

Since then the track has been used as a venue for Formula One testing and remains popular with national-level racing in Italy.

It was renamed the Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi in 2006.