Named the Autodromo Riccardo Paletti in 1983 in honour of the young racer killed in the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, the 2.35 km circuit is located on the south side of the Torrente Ceno, half a kilometre south of Varano in Parma, northern Italy.

The tiny 600 metre original circuit was created in 1969 around a football field, and quickly grew over the following years.

In 1971 the track was extended to 1.2 km and featured a new pitlane and paddock complex, but just one year later it was extended again to the east, creating a 1.8 km layout.

Named the Autodromo San Cristoforo in 1972, plans for the circuit to be extended again with a southern loop were put forward that same year, but this time they stalled and ultimately never came to fruition.

Instead, the circuit stayed largely the same until 2002, save for a reprofiling of the north-westernmost corner named in honour of Jacky Ickx.

In 2002, an extension to the east was finally secured, lengthening the circuit to 2.375 km, and the pits were upgraded two years later. The Jacky Ickx corner was reprofiled again in 2010.

The most recent track changes came with adjustments to the final two corners in 2011 to create tighter corners with more runoff areas.

Although not currently visited by national touring cars, in the 1990s the circuit was a regular venue for the Italian Super Touring Championship.