// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Monza memories - Italian GP in pictures through the years
The Italian Grand Prix takes place this weekend at Monza, arguably the most historic venue on the calendar.
Monza has hosted Formula 1 races more times than any other circuit, staging grands prix in all but one year since the inaugural season in 1950.
The only time Monza was absent was 1980, when it was being renovated.
Located in a royal park and surrounded by woodland, it is known as the 'cathedral of speed'. It is the spiritual home of Ferrari and the devoted tifosi who adore the Italian team.
It is all but impossible to imagine F1 without Monza - it was where the first world championship was decided 76 years ago and where, last year, Red Bull's Max Verstappen set the fastest lap in F1 history during qualifying.
Throughout the years, Monza has been the scene of thrilling finishes, Ferrari glory, title wins, controversy and tragedy. Its story is F1's story.
A picture from the 1950 Italian Grand Prix, the final race of Formula 1's first season. The race and inaugural drivers' title was won by Italian Giuseppe Farina, in an Alfa Romeo. Farina is the only driver to win the title in his home country.
Ferrari's Giuseppe Farina (nearest the camera), Maserati's Juan Manuel Fangio and Ferrari's Alberto Ascari, on the far side, line up before the start of the 1953 race. These three men shared the first eight Formula 1 world championships. Fangio won this race but Ascari took the title that year.
Juan Manuel Fangio is followed by Stirling Moss and Peter Collins on the steep banking during the 1956 Italian Grand Prix. The banking was used up until the 1961 race and remains in place at Monza. Maserati's Moss won the race. Ferrari pair Fangio and Collins shared second place, after the Briton handed over his car to his Argentine team-mate. The points ensured Fangio won the fourth of his five world titles.
Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first woman to compete in F1, drove for Maserati at her home race in 1958.