Learn Italian: Abbiamo percorso questo tratto noioso fino a Roma. - We covered this boring stretch up to Rome.

The compound preposition fino a means "up to" or "as far as". Because Roma is a city, it doesn't take a definite article (la), so the preposition a remains alone. If we were talking about a country or region that requires an article, you would combine a with the article, such as fino alla Francia (as far as France).

Does fino a mean "up to" or "until" here?

In this sentence, it indicates a spatial limit, so it translates to "up to" or "as far as" Rome. You will also see fino a used for temporal limits, meaning "until" (for example, fino a domani means "until tomorrow").

What is the infinitive of percorso?

It is the irregular past participle of percorrere, which means "to cover a distance", "to travel along", or "to go through". Because it is based on the root verb correre (to run), it follows the same irregular pattern in the past participle (corso becomes percorso).

I learned that tratto means a character trait. Why is it used in a sentence about driving?

The word tratto has multiple meanings depending on the context. While it can mean a physical feature or personality trait, in the context of travel or geography, it refers to a "stretch", "section", or "segment" of a road or journey.