Page 65 - Coespu Magazine 2017-2

for the Italian Army
during WWI, the
implementation of the
new road was of
strategic importance
because it allowed
communication and
transfer of supplies from
the valley below to the
summit area of the
mountain.
The road was, and it is
also nowadays, a
masterpiece of military
engineering, considering
the conditions and the
th
Characteristic exit of the 19 tunnel
times in which it was
realized. Among the other primacies, the rapidity with which this road was built is outstanding: the
th
works began on February 6 , 1917, and was concluded in November 1917. It was correctly
considered to be a military engineering marvel, and was built in just 10 months under the guidance

rd
Soldiers of 33 Italian Army Engineers Company in 1917
rd
of Lieutenant Giuseppe Zappa first, and Captain Corrado Picone later, and by the work of 33

Italian Army Engineers Company.
This road is 6,555 meters long, of which 2,280 are classified into 52 rock galleries. Each gallery is
numbered and marked by its own name. The minimum width of 2,20 m was originally intended to
allow the transit of contemporary two mules with their baggage.

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