Dante Genovesi, 18, of Marblehead, was at the mall last fall when his 2025 summer plans changed in an instant. At the same time, his mom, owner of Roses and Thistle on Pleasant Street, was chatting with family friend Jeff Gault about the iconic Italian car race Mille Miglia.
Mid-conversation, Gault — a longtime racer in the event who also lives in Marblehead— made a snap decision.
“Why don’t I just bring Dante this year? He can be our intern,” said Genovesi, seated at Mookie’s and reflecting on the moment that set everything in motion.
When his mom shared the news, “I had to, like, sit down,” he said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
So the Marblehead High School Class of 2025 graduate went from throwing his graduation cap in the air to navigating 1,000 miles of Italian countryside two weeks later as an intern for Team Gault’s 1953 Lincoln Capri in the legendary Mille Miglia rally.
The Mille Miglia began in 1927 as an open-road race but was halted in 1957 over safety concerns. Revived in the 1970s as a rally for vintage cars, Genovesi said today’s event tests precision, not speed. In this year’s race, the Gault team placed what Genovesi said was an impressive 93rd out of about 403 finishers (about 30 started but didn’t finish) — a strong result, especially given their 1953 Lincoln scored lower than older models.
“That was a very big accomplishment. Everyone was super excited about that. The big goal was to place under 100,” Genovesi said.
The whirlwind five-day race took him from northern Italy’s limestone hills to Rome and back, passing through Bologna, the Apennines, the Adriatic coast and Parma’s farmlands.
Genovesi’s role as navigator proved more challenging than expected as he guided the support cars through mountain passes and medieval towns using detailed road books.
“The whole time I was interning. Basically the way it was explained to me before I got there, it was like, ‘You’re gonna be working with a team manager who’s Nicole. She’s gonna tell you what to do. You do whatever she says. It could be anything,’” he said.
The terrain changed daily — from alpine vineyards to sunbaked hills and the humid Adriatic coast. Racing through small villages, Genovesi was struck by how relaxed local police were. At one point, their rental car hit an unmarked speed bump at 90 mph on a downhill curve — yet officers routinely shut off speed cameras and looked the other way.
“This car slaps the ground, and it goes flying up. There’s like a visible air gap under all four tires,” Genovesi said. “We go flying through the air, over the speed bump.”
He said official Mille Miglia stickers on support vehicles served as unofficial licenses for creative driving.
The grueling schedule meant starting at 5 a.m. each day and working until 11 p.m., surviving largely on McDonald’s espresso during brief stops.
“I had more McDonald’s in the first week in Italy than I may have had in my life in America,” Genovesi said.
His passion for vintage cars stems from his father, a Mercedes technician who always kept a revolving door of classic-car projects.
“From when I was young, he would always, usually have some sort of old muscle car project in the garage,” said Genovesi. “I’d always see what he was working on and work with him. I just loved it.”
The race deepened his appreciation for classic automobiles as he watched museum-quality cars tackle demanding road conditions. The 2025 Mille Miglia attracted vintage cars from 29 countries, including 127 pre-war models and 78 original racers from the event’s golden age between 1927 and 1957. The international field featured automotive royalty with 17 Ferraris, 18 Alfa Romeos, 10 Bugattis, eight Bentleys, an Aston Martin DB3 and two Porsche 550 Spyder RS models driving through Italy’s winding roads alongside Gault’s modified Lincoln.
“Seeing so many of these cars — ones I’d only ever seen in museums, photographs or magazines — actually out on the road, just crushing it, gave me an even deeper respect for them,” Genovesi said.
Now awaiting admission results for an electrician apprenticeship program, Genovesi extended his stay in Italy to explore more of the country, spending additional weeks experiencing Italian culture beyond the high-speed world of vintage racing.
“I learned that damn it — I love a road trip. And also — if need be — I really don’t need that much sleep,” he said. “In a heartbeat” would he do it again, already planning future Italian road trips to explore the country’s southern regions.
