The circuit was inaugurated as a semi-permanent venue in 1953 under the name Autodromo di Imola, initially used for motorcycle racing. The first car race was held in June 1954. In April 1963, Imola hosted its first Formula One event — a non-championship race won by Jim Clark for Lotus. A second non-championship Formula One race followed in 1979, won by Niki Lauda for Brabham-Alfa Romeo.
Imola officially entered the Formula One World Championship in 1980, hosting the Italian Grand Prix — the first time the Autodromo Nazionale Monza had not staged the Italian Grand Prix since 1948. Nelson Piquet won that race. The circuit's success led to the creation of the San Marino Grand Prix in 1981, a new event established specifically for Imola despite San Marino being a separate sovereign state. The San Marino Grand Prix remained on the calendar until 2006.
The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was one of the darkest weekends in the sport's history. During Friday practice, Rubens Barrichello was knocked unconscious after being launched over a kerb, but survived. On Saturday, Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger died when his Simtek lost its front wing at over 310 km/h at the Villeneuve corner and crashed head-on into the wall — the first driver fatality in Formula One in twelve years. On race day, three-time world champion Ayrton Senna's steering column broke on lap 7, and he crashed into the concrete wall at the Tamburello corner at high speed. Senna died of his injuries later that day in hospital in Bologna.
In the immediate aftermath, Tamburello was converted from a flat-out left-hander into a left-right-left chicane, and Villeneuve corner was also modified. These and subsequent changes altered the fundamental character of the circuit.
Tamburello had been a source of concern for years before 1994. In 1987, Nelson Piquet crashed there after a tyre failure. In 1989, Gerhard Berger's Ferrari ignited after a 300 km/h impact following a front wing failure; quick work by marshals allowed Berger to survive with burns. Michele Alboreto and Riccardo Patrese also suffered heavy shunts at the corner in testing sessions. The combination of flat-out speed, an uneven surface, and a concrete wall separated from the track by minimal runoff made it uniquely dangerous.
Formula One last visited Imola in 2006 and was removed from the 2007 calendar. The circuit's owners, SAGIS, undertook major reconstruction of the pits, paddock, and pit lane — work overseen by German F1 track architect Hermann Tilke. A bypass to the Variante Bassa chicane was also added, restoring some of the circuit's original flowing character for car racing while retaining the chicane for motorcycle events. The FIA awarded the track a Grade 1 homologation in August 2011.
In February 2020, Imola submitted a bid to replace the cancelled Chinese Grand Prix. On 24 July 2020, the circuit was confirmed as a new venue for the 2020 Formula One season. The race was named the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in honour of the surrounding region, and took place on a compressed two-day format on 31 October and 1 November 2020 — an unusual schedule driven by pandemic-era logistics. Lewis Hamilton set the official race lap record of 1:15.484, while Valtteri Bottas set the unofficial qualifying track record of 1:13.609.
Imola remained on the Formula One calendar for 2021 and 2022. The 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was cancelled due to the catastrophic flooding of the Santerno river that affected the circuit and surrounding region. The race returned in 2024 and 2025, with the circuit contracted through 2025.
Imola has hosted the Superbike World Championship since 2001 (with a gap), the FIM Motocross World Championship final since 2018, the World Touring Car Championship on multiple occasions, and rounds of the European Le Mans Series. The circuit is considered one of Ferrari's home venues given the team's base in nearby Maranello.
Imola is an anti-clockwise circuit — unusual among major venues — and retains a compact, rhythmic character despite the safety modifications of the 1990s. The climb to Variante Alta, the descent to Rivazza, and the flat-out run from Rivazza 2 to the modified Tamburello chicane remain demanding sequences. The circuit's president since its modern era is Giancarlo Minardi of the former Minardi Formula One team.
Imola's history spans from the pioneering 1950s through tragedy in 1994, institutional absence, and eventual return. As a Ferrari pilgrimage site and a place forever associated with the deaths of Senna and Ratzenberger, it carries a weight of motorsport memory unlike almost any other circuit on the calendar.