Vehicles of historical and collectible interest can circulate again in the Capital. This was decided by the TAR of Lazio with sentence no. 14699/24 of 18 July 2024, accepting the appeal presented by ASI against the mayoral ordinances of Rome Capital, which in fact reiterated (albeit with minimal exceptions) the limitations on the circulation of vehicles certified as being of historical and collectible interest, although previous provisions of a similar nature had already been annulled by the same Administrative Court, again on appeal by ASI.
This latest ruling provides for the annulment of the mayoral ordinance of Rome Capital n. 38 of 27 March 2024 (in reference only to vehicles of historical and collectible interest referred to in art. 60 of the Highway Code) recognizing even the minimal exceptions to such prohibitions as illegitimate.
The TAR ruling considers all the arguments put forward by ASI in the grounds for appeal to be well-founded regarding the lack of investigation, the lack of motivation and, more generally, the violation of the principle of proportionality. Historic vehicles, even in Rome, can now circulate without impediments and their specific protection is not negotiable, just as ASI maintains in every instance.
“A new, significant result obtained for the protection of historic vehicles – says ASI President Alberto Scuro – which responds to the need to be able to use them in a way that guarantees their correct conservation and to enjoy them in an appropriate way. The TAR of Lazio has once again supported our arguments, already highlighted in the past to the Giunta Capitolina in reference to vehicles equipped with a Certificate of Historical Relevance. We must be able to use them by protecting this heritage, consciously, with cultural and recreational purposes, to give life to that slow tourism that is so important for promoting our territories. Without forgetting the production sector that lives off this sector, also recognized internationally as Italian excellence”.
The Administrative Court has highlighted the need to grant vehicles of historical and collectible interest special protection compared to the rest of the circulating fleet, without imposing an unjustified sacrifice, under penalty of the emergence of a “tyrant” right. The administrative judge has recognized that the provision of exemptions from circulation bans is not suitable for protecting historical motoring in the absence of an accurate motivational system that proves the actual impact of historical vehicles on pollution: from the estimates produced – and repeated in the sentence – it is unequivocally deduced the small number of this category of vehicles compared to the entire circulating fleet (0.29% of the total vehicles circulating in Rome).