Carlo Donegani. We owe him the Stelvio Road, a route that has entered legend and is recognized as one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the world. This year, in 2025, it celebrates its 200th anniversary. Come, let us introduce it to you.
Five years That’s how long it took to build the Stelvio Road. From 1820 to 1825, engineer Carlo Donegani embarked on an almost impossible project: creating a road that would ascend from Bormio (1,225 m) to the Stelvio Pass (2,758 m) and descend again to Spondigna (900 m). The road was designed to remain open year-round, even in winter, defying snow and avalanches.
Why was the Stelvio Road built? After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia was established as part of the Austrian Empire. It became necessary to build a road connecting Milan to Vienna without passing through Switzerland. While the stretch from Milan to Bormio was relatively easy and quick to complete, the challenge lay in the section from Bormio to Spondigna, in South Tyrol.
How was it built? Based on a Napoleonic-era draft, Donegani developed innovative solutions for the time. Imagine, the road was consistently five meters wide and never exceeded a 10% gradient.
Construction work began on June 26, 1820, starting from the center of Bormio and progressing towards the Bagni Vecchi, where a wooden bridge and the first tunnel were built. From there, the route entered the rugged Braulio Valley, requiring ingenious technical solutions. These included the construction of 34 hairpin bends on the Valtellina side (later increased to 40) and 48 on the South Tyrolean side, along with tunnels carved into the rock or built with masonry, and wooden avalanche barriers. Additionally, infrastructure was built to ensure safety and provide rest for travelers: five road maintenance houses, three huts for "rotteri" (workers responsible for maintaining the road year-round, even in winter, when they had to "break" the snow to allow passage), a barracks, and the Oratory of St. Ranieri at the Third Cantoniera.
In 1831, a stagecoach service was introduced from Milan: it took 64 hours to reach Bormio and 125 to reach Landeck in Tyrol. Pulled by four or six horses, the stagecoach could carry up to eight passengers with their luggage. It is still preserved today at the Civic Museum of Bormio.
Since then, the route of the road has remained virtually unchanged, allowing visitors to embark on a true journey through history. This year, on the bicentennial of its construction, the Stelvio Road continues to stand as a marvel of engineering and an eternal symbol of the Alps.
