Italiano Stelvio Pass Road
The pass is located in the Ortler Alps in Italy between Stilfs in South Tyrol Bormio in theProvince of Sondrio. It is about 75 km (47 mi) from Bolzano and a mere 200 m from the Swiss border. The Umbrail Pass runs northwards from the Stelvio's western ramp, and the "Three Languages Peak" above the pass is so named because this is where the Italian,German & Romansh languages meet.
The original road was built in 1820–25 by the Austrian Empiree to connect the former Austrian province of Lombardia with the rest of Austria, covering a climb of 1,871 m (6,138 ft) The engineer and project manager was Carlo Donegani (1775–1845). Since then, the route has changed very little. Its seventy-five hairpin turns 48of them on the northern side numbered with stones, are a challenge to motorists. Stirling Moss went off the road here during a vintage car event in the 1990s, with an on-board video of his incident being shown on satellite TV. Before the end of World War I, it formed the border between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Italian Kingdom, The Swiss had an outpost and a hotel (which was destroyed) on the Dreisprachenspitze (literally, Three-Language-Peak). During World War I, fierce battles were fought in the ice and snow of the area, with gun
fire even crossing the Swiss area at times. The three nations made an
agreement not to fire over Swiss territory, which jutted out in between
Austria (to the north) and Italy (to the south). Instead they could fire down the pass, as Swiss territory was up and around the peak.After 1919, with the expansion of Italy, the pass lost its strategic importance.The Stelvio Pass retains an importance for sport when it is open from
June to September. Countless cyclists and motorcyclists struggle to get
to the highest stretch of road in the Eastern Alps. It is the highest finish of any Grand Tour.The Giro d'Italia often crosses the Stelvio Pass (it was crossed by the Giro for the first time in1953.when coppi beat Koblet).The last winner on the pass was Dario Cataldo in 2014. Every year, the pass is closed to motor vehicles on one day in
late August when about 8,000 cyclists ride on the Stelvio.
The Stelvio Pass was also picked by the British automotive show Top Gear as its choice for the "greatest driving road in the world", although their search was concentrated only in Europe.
This conclusion was reached after the team went in search of a road
that would satisfy every "petrolhead's" driving fantasies in the premiere of the show's 10season.Top Gear later decided that the Transfagarasan Highway in Romania was possibly a superior driving road. In 2008,Moto Guzzi started selling astelvio model, named after the famous mountain pass.
Norway Trollstigen Road
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| Norway Trollstigen Road
Trollstigen (English: Trolls' Path) is a
serpentine mountain road in Rauma Municipality,More og Romsdal
county, Norway. It is part of Norwegian National Road 63 that
connects the town of Andalsnes in Rauma and the village of Valldal inNorddal
Municipality. It is a popular tourist attraction due to its steep incline of
10% and eleven hairpin bends up a steep mountainside. During the top tourist
season, about 2,500 vehicles pass daily. During the 2012 season, 161,421
vehicles traversed the route, compared to 155,230 vehicles during 2009.The road is narrow with many sharp bends, and
although several bends were widened during 2005 to 2012, vehicles over 12.4
metres (41 ft) long are prohibited from driving the road. During the 2011
and 2012 seasons, buses up to 13.1 metres (43 ft) were temporarily allowed
as a trial. At the 700-metre (2,300 ft) plateau there is acar park and
several viewing balconies overlooking the bends and the Stigfossen waterfall.
Stigfossen falls 320 metres (1,050 ft) down the mountainside. The pass has
an elevation of approximately 850 metres (2,790 ft).Trollstigen is closed during late autumn and
winter. A normal operating season stretches from mid-May to October, but may
sometimes be shorter or longer due to weather conditions.
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