La Festa Mille Miglia — “festival of a thousand miles” in Italian — was established in 1997, 70 years after the birth of Mille Miglia (“one thousand miles”) in the ancient city of Brescia in northern Italy in 1927. A sister event of Mille Miglia, La Festa Mille Miglia was officially recognized by the Fédération Internationale Véhicules Anciens and established as a four-day classic car rally based in Tokyo. In 2009, a spin-off event was created; La Festa Primavera ("spring festival") was founded as a four-day event based in the Kinki-Tokai region.

Both La Festa Mille Miglia and La Festa Primavera are stamp rally-style events with scenic and historical sites in approximately 100 cities and towns en route. The oldest participating vehicles are produced in the Taisho era (1912–1926), and even the newer cars are nearly half a century old. These classic gems are elegant and truly one-of-a-kind; they are pieces of art that must be handed down to future generations.

With the development and spread of computers, cell phones, GPS, car navigation systems and other technologies, our modern-day lives have undergone a dramatic change. It is imaginable that further technological advances in the near future will bring about automobiles that will drive us to our destination more safely and comfortably without having to exert any energy or use our senses.

On the contrary, all the automobiles of La Festa Primavera are inconvenient vehicles whose every movement must be controlled by hand. And yet, the participants continue to embark on their adventures happily.

Technology has made our lives easier, but what has it done to our spirit? Is there anything we might have lost along the way?

With our fundamental mottoes, "Respect for the old," "Always young at heart," and "Friendship among participants," our festival will go on year after year, because, as we like to say, persistence is strength.