In the summer of 1825 an unsurpassed pass was opened for the height on the sea level and the spectacularity of the work. Designed by Count Donegani and built with immense labors
The construction of an incredible mountain road, still unreachable at least in Europe, dates back to the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is the Road of the Stelvio that turns 200 years of age in 2025 and was born with the idea of a path that connected Milan – capital of the Lombard -Veneto kingdom – with Vienna, the heart of the empire but without going from Switzerland and crossing the Rhetic Alps. An almost impossible challenge because a road had to be built from the 1,225 meters of Bormio Salisse to 2,758 of the Stelvio Pass, and then went down to 900 in Spondigna, in South Tyrol. But Carlo Donegani, 45 -year -old Brescia engineer, commissioned by Francesco I d’Abburg of his construction, succeeded in the company. And if building the stretch from Milan to Bormio was relatively easy and fast, the challenge – sensational for the time – was completed, that, complicated, from Bormio to Spondigna.
Maximum slope at 10%
–
Based on a draft of the Napoleonic era, Donegani created innovative solutions for the time: the road was five meters wide everywhere and never exceeded 10% slope. The construction works began on June 26, 1820, starting from the center of Bormio and continuing to the old bathrooms, where a wood bridge and the first tunnel were built. From here, we entered the Impervia Valle del Braulio which imposed ingenious technical solutions. Among these, the construction of 34 hairpin bends on the Valtellinese side (later became 40) and 48 on the South Tyrolean one, as well as tunnels (dug in the rock or built in masonry), and wooden paravalanche. Infrastructures for the safety and refreshment of travelers were also built: five cantonier houses, three shelters for the so -called “routes” (road maintenance workers all year round, even in winter, when they had to “break” the snow to allow transit), a barracks and the oratory of S. Ranieri.
Suffering at high altitude
–
The construction requested about 2500 people between unspeakable labors and the residence near the construction sites, inside the curtains on the sides of the mountains while the echoing day and night of the mines resonated, as we read in the diary of Donegani himself. Only 63 months after the start of the works, the inauguration with the main pomp of the road in the presence of the emperor who insign the engineer of the title of Conte. It is still the highest automotive pass in Italy and the second in Europe behind the Hill of the ISran, in France which is located at 2770 meters above sea level. In a few years, the road became a small communication jewel: in 1831, a regular diligence service from Milan to Landeck, Tyrol, with carriages that led to eight people with luggage was operated on. One of these is preserved at the Civic Museum of Bormio, which deserves a stop. In 1859, with the annexation of Lombardy to the Sabaudo Kingdom, the valley became the territory of the border complete with fortifications on the two sides: they were used during the harsh clashes of the First World War.
Cima Coppi
–
After the conflict, both sides became Italian and the pass lost much of its strategic meaning of connection and the winter closure was therefore decided. Also this year, for the record and except for surprises, it will open on May 30 and close until early November. The transition to the modern era was in 1928 when the State road 38 of the Stelvio was built: the entire route was consolidated, expanded and asphalted, creating a carriage road, with double direction of travel. It is the current track, always spectacular in the car and motorbike, it remains a degree exam for those who love the bicycle. It was not that it was the scenario of memorable stages of the Giro d’Italia, becoming Cima Coppi (i.e. the highest point touched by the caravan) 13 times: 8 from the South Tyrolean side and 5 from the Valtellinese one. The appellation of Cima Coppi was born on the Stelvio when in 1953, the heron climbing between walls of snow on the sides, conquered the pink jersey winning its fifth (and last) Giro d’Italia. That’s why because for an amateur runner the extreme test of one’s ability. A curiosity: among the many initiatives and events scheduled between May and November, the official party is scheduled for 5 and 6 July. All the slopes of the road will be closed to traffic, from 9 to 16, to allow to celebrate the anniversary.
© RESERVED REPRODUCTION