When, 200 years ago, engineer Carlo Donegani designed the road of Stelvio Pass, he not only created an extraordinary work but literally opened a new route of communication: a gravel road that wound like a snail to overcome that mountain pass and connect the Valtellina valley and Switzerland.

For many decades, it was mainly the carriages of postilions that tackled that road, but starting next year bicycles will also be able to travel it again, becoming the true queens of the territory.

The new future for Stelvio Pass has been designed by the Municipality of Bormio, Stelvio National Park and the Lombardy Region, which are implementing a project that provides new spaces for those who live in and cross this area. 

The works, started last spring, have progressed steadily until the road closure, scheduled for these days, and will resume in 2027, with the good season, to be completed by summer. The overall investment is close to two million euros, financed by the Municipality of Bormio through the Border Municipalities Fund, by Stelvio National Park and by the Stelvio Pass company, a joint venture between the Lombardy Region, through Ersaf, and the Autonomous Province of Bolzano.

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A post shared by Silvia Cavazzi (@silviacavazzi)

The announcement by Bormio's deputy mayor Silvia Cavazzi, shared on Instagram, is truly promising: «The dream of thousands of passionate cyclists is to travel the ancient Stelvio road and starting next year it will be possible to do so».

And then further: «We are at the end of a fantastic season for Stelvio Pass. The year has been characterized by an increase in tourist flows, also thanks to the amplifying effect of the Milan Cortina Olympics. Furthermore, at the end of August, we installed the sculpture donated by artist Marco Alberti that captures the essence of this mountain and the road both for those who love this territory and for the cyclists who tackle it. Today Stelvio Pass is more known and loved: in the future it will be even more welcoming for all the people who will visit it».

Specifically - explains the website valtellinanews.it, the area dedicated to pedestrians and cyclists will be made safe, with the restoration of the stone walls and the construction of sidewalks, while the former Guardia di Finanza (Financial Police) barracks will be redeveloped to become a service center for cyclists. The toll house, built more than two hundred years ago, upgraded on the outside, will be returned to visitors in a museum setting to become a point of reference for anyone traveling the road and wanting to learn more about it. The restoration of the snail, one of Stelvio's symbols, as it marks the original route designed by Carlo Donegani more than two centuries ago, is also planned, realizing an extraordinary engineering work for those times, a system of tight and very steep hairpin turns, partially replaced by modern variants for those traveling by car, but beloved by cyclists. New installations, such as the viewpoint planned at the second toll house, will also immortalize the feats of two-wheeled enthusiasts.