Road of 52 Tunnels, Road of the first Army
Strada delle 52 gallerie, Strada della Prima Armata
Road of 52 Tunnels
Road of 52 Tunnels, Road of the first Army is located in Italy
Road of 52 Tunnels, Road of the first Army
Road of 52 Tunnels, Road of the first Army
Coordinates45°46′44″N 11°13′41″E / 45.779°N 11.228°E / 45.779; 11.228
Typemilitary mule
Site information
Controlled byKingdom of Italy
Open to
the public		yes
Site history
BuiltFebruary 6, 1917
Built byKingdom of Italy
In useKingdom of Italy
Battles/warsWorld War I
Strada delle 52 Gallerie
Length6.5 km (4.0 mi)
Trailheads
  • Bocchetta Campiglia (1.216 m) [1]
  • Porte del Pasubio (1.928 m)
[2]
UseHiking
Elevation change750 m (2,460 ft)
Highest pointthe end of 47th tunnel, 2,000 m (6,600 ft)
Lowest pointBocchetta Campiglia, 1,216 m (3,990 ft)
Grade22 %
Seasonsummer
Surfacerock
Right of waymilitary mule

The Strada delle 52 Gallerie ("Road of 52 tunnels"), also known as the 52 Tunnel Road, or Strada della Prima Armata ("Road of the First Army") is a military mule road built during World War I on the Pasubio massif in Veneto, Italy.

The road winds between Bocchetta Campiglia (1,216 metres [3,990 ft]) [1] and the Porte del Pasubio (1,934 metres [6,345 ft]) [2] crossing the southern slope of the mountain with its spires, deep canyons and sheer rock faces, outside of the range of Austro-Hungarian artillery.

Features

It is 6,555 metres (21,506 ft) long, of which 2,335 metres (7,661 ft)[3] are divided into 52 tunnels excavated from the rock, each tunnel is numbered and characterized by a particular name. The minimum width of 2.20 metres (7.2 ft) was originally intended to allow the transit of two mules with their baggage. [4] The slope of the road reaches 22 percent, with an average of 12 percent.[4] Notable among the many tunnels is the 19th because, in addition to being the longest (320 metres (1,050 ft)), it has a helical layout with 4 hairpin bends, inside a gigantic rock tower.[5]

The Tunnel 20 is carved out of a rock tower, and to overcome the difference in height, twists around itself like a corkscrew. Tunnels 41 through 45 run below the Passo Fontana d'oro (1,875 metres [6,152 ft]). On leaving the 47th, the highest point of the road (2,000 metres [6,562 ft]), there is a magnificent panorama.

The passage of the 15th gallery
Top of the 20th tunnel (spiral tunnel)

Completion

A masterpiece of military engineering and boldness (it was produced by the 33rd Miners Company of the Italian Army with the help of six hundred workers), considering the conditions and the time it was built, and the speed of execution. Work began on February 6, 1917, and was completed in November 1917.

Its implementation was of great strategic importance because it allowed communication and transfer of supplies from the base to the summit area of Mt. Pasubio. Key aspects of the road include year round access, located outside of enemy artillery range and accessible by mule. These were all problems with the similar road of Scarubbi which is only accessible with motorized vehicles, within the range of the Austro-Hungarian guns, and only during the summer.

Mountain biking is strictly prohibited due to a number of fatal accidents.

Order of tunnel Name of tunnel Length of tunnel Picture
1 Cap. Zappa 17 metres
2 Gen. D'Havet 65 metres
3 Rovereto 14 metres
4 Battisti 31 metres
5 Oberdan 10 metres
6 Trieste 17 metres
7 Gen. Cascino 35 metres
8 Gen. Cantore 23 metres
9 Gen. Zoppi 78 metres
10 Sauro 12 metres
11 Magg. Randaccio 28 metres
12 Cap. Motti 95 metres
13 Cap. Filzi 27 metres
14 Cap. Melchiori 61 metres
15 Tortona 45 metres
16 Reggio Calabria 74 metres
17 Bergamo 52 metres
18 Parma 46 metres
19 Re
(Victor Emmanuel III of Italy)
 318 metres
20 Gen. Cadorna 86 metres
21 Gen. Porro 20 metres
22 Breganze 8 metres
23 Gen. Capello 18 metres
Order of tunnel Name of tunnel Length of tunnel Picture
24 Bologna 16 metres
25 Aquila 11 metres
26 Napoli 24 metres
27 Cap. Picone 98 metres
28 Genoa 14 metres
29 Spezia 31 metres
30 Miss 10 metres
31 Gen. Papa 72 metres
32 Palazzolo 48 metres
33 33ª minatori 57 metres
34 Gen. Giustetti 132 metres
35 Trani 10 metres
36 Gen. Garibaldi 12 metres
37 Balilla 26 metres
38 Turin 29 metres
39 Mantua 53 metres
40 Trento 10 metres
41 26ª minatori 24 metres
42 Macerata 19 metres
43 Polesine 55 metres
44 Zappatori Liguria 22 metres
45 Plotone 25ª minatori 83 metres
46 Piceno 65 metres
47 Pallanza 22 metres
48 Cesena 14 metres
49 Soldato italiano 19 metres
50 Cav. Vittorio Veneto 27 metres
51 Plotone minatori sardo 66 metres
52 Sardinia 86 metres

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 (Gattera 2007, p. 27).
  2. 1 2 (Gattera 2007, p. 38).
  3. ↑ (Gattera 2007, p. 100-109)length of the galleries is obtained by adding the lengths of the individual galleries mentioned in the book
  4. 1 2 (Gattera 2007, p. 78) taken from the technical report of Captain Corrado Picone.
  5. ↑ (Gattera 2007, p. 30).

Cartography

  • (in Italian) "Sentieri Pasubio e Carega-foglio Nord" 1:20.000 Sezioni vicentine del CAI
  • (in Italian) Sentieri della val di Posina, edito dalla Provincia di Vicenza, assessorato al turismo 26 April 2013
  • Kompass – carte, ed. (2003). Carta turistica 1:50000 n.101 – Rovereto M.Pasubio (in Italian). ISBN 9783854911036.

Bibliography

  • Claudio Gattera (2007). Gino Rossato Editore (ed.). Il pasubio e la strada delle 52 gallerie (in Italian). ISBN 978-88-8130-017-4.
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