Strada delle 52 Gallerie

Road of 52 Tunnels, Road of the first Army
Strada delle 52 gallerie, Strada delle Prima Armata
Road of 52 Tunnels
Road of 52 Tunnels, Road of the first Army
Coordinates
Type	military mule
Site information
Controlled by	Kingdom of Italy
Open to the public	yes
Site history
Built	February 6, 1917
Built by	Kingdom of Italy
In use	Kingdom of Italy
Battles/wars	World War I

Strada delle 52 Gallerie
Length	6.5 km (4 mi)
Trailheads	Bocchetta Campiglia (1.216 m) Porte del Pasubio (1.928 m)
Use	Hiking
Elevation
Elevation change
Highest point	the end of 47th tunnel,
Lowest point	Bocchetta Campiglia,
Grade	22 %
Hiking details
Season	summer
Surface	rock
Right of way	military mule

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

The road winds between Bocchetta Campiglia (1,216 m) and the Porte del Pasubio (1,934 m) crossing the southern slope of the mountain, outside of the range of Austro-Hungarian artillery, with its spires, deep canyons and sheer rock faces.

Features

It is 6,555 meters long, of which 2,280 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 m was originally intended to allow the transit of two mules with their baggage.

The impressive N. 20 is carved out of a rock tower, and to overcome the difference in height, twists around itself like a corkscrew. Tunnels 41st through 45th runs below the Passo Fontana d'Oro (1,875 m). On leaving the 47th, the highest point of the road (2,000 m), there is a magnificent panorama.

File:Passaggio, 15. galleria.jpg

The passage of the 15th gallery

File:Uscita 20. galleria.jpg

Top of the 20th tunnel (spiral tunnel)

Completion

It was built from February 6, 1917 to November 1917. A masterpiece of military engineering and boldness (it was produced by the 33rd 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 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 Austrian 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 100px 2 Gen. D'Havet 65 metres 100px 3 Rovereto 14 metres 100px 4 Battisti 31 metres 100px 5 Oberdan 10 metres 100px 6 Trieste 17 metres 100px 7 Gen. Cascino 35 metres 100px 8 Gen. Cantore 23 metres 100px 9 Gen. Zoppi 78 metres 100px 10 Sauro 12 metres 100px 11 Magg. Randaccio 28 metres 100px 12 Cap. Motti 95 metres 100px 13 Cap. Filzi 27 metres 100px 14 Cap. Melchiori 61 metres 100px 15 Tortona 45 metres 100px 16 Reggio Calabria 74 metres 100px 17 Bergamo 52 metres 100px 18 Parma 46 metres 100px 19 Re 318 metres 100px 20 Gen. Cadorna 86 metres 100px 21 Gen. Porro 20 metres 100px 22 Breganze 8 metres 100px 23 Gen. Capello 18 metres 100px

Order of tunnel Name of tunnel Length of tunnel Picture 24 Bologna 16 metres 100px 25 Aquila 11 metres 100px 26 Napoli 24 metres 100px 27 Cap. Picone 98 metres 100px 28 Genova 14 metres 100px 29 Spezia 31 metres 100px 30 Miss 10 metres 100px 31 Gen. Papa 72 metres 100px 32 Palazzolo 48 metres 100px 33 33ª minatori 57 metres 100px 34 Gen. Giustetti 132 metres 100px 35 Trani 10 metres 100px 36 Gen. Garibaldi 12 metres 100px 37 Balilla 26 metres 100px 38 Torino 29 metres 100px 39 Mantova 53 metres 100px 40 Trento 10 metres 100px 41 26ª minatori 24 metres 100px 42 Macerata 19 metres 100px 43 Polesine 55 metres 100px 44 Zappatori Liguria 22 metres 100px 45 Plotone 25ª minatori 83 metres 100px 46 Piceno 65 metres 100px 47 Pallanza 22 metres 100px 48 Cesena 14 metres 100px 49 Soldato italiano 19 metres 100px 50 Cav. Vittorio Veneto 27 metres 100px 51 Plotone minatori sardo 66 metres 100px 52 Sardegna 86 metres 100px

References

Cartography

• (Italian)"Sentieri Pasubio e Carega-foglio Nord" 1:20.000 Sezioni vicentine del CAI
• (Italian) Sentieri della val di Posina, edito dalla Provincia di Vicenza, assessorato al turismo 26 April 2013

External links

• Strada 52 Gallerie 3D
• (Italian) Strada delle 52 gallerie
• (Italian) Strada delle 52 gallerie Itinerario
• (German) Bericht über die Strada delle 52 Galerie im Explorermagazin