Stelvio

The Passo dello Stelvio, the highest pass in Italy @ 2757m, is situated in the Alps.

The construction of the road was started in April 1820 on behalf of the Austrian empire.
the road construction had been finished within only five years. Effectively, the construction took less than 2 years, because of the breaks in the winter. Around 2000 workers had been employed. With the transfer of South Tyrol to Italy (1919) the 48 kilometre long road came to be situated entirely on Italian land.

The Stelvio is not an essential through-route, but it is one of the most magnificent mountain passes to be found in Europe, many consider it scenery the finest of all the Alpine passes.
It is possible to climb the Stelvio from two different sides.
From Bormio and from Prato both in Italy.
It is also possible to reach the Stelvio from Switzerland, namely from St. Maria, but strictly speaking that is not the Passo dello Stelvio, but the Passo Umbrail (2501 m). From the Passo Umbrail one can go on to the top of the Passo dello Stelvio (a rise of 256 metres in 3 kilometres, that is a slope of 8.5%). The toughest, and to us most spectacular climbing is the one from Prato. Not less than 48 hairpins are on the way to the top. It is regarded as one of the finest continuous hairpin sectors in the Alps.

The 60 hairpin bends, 48 of them on the northern side numbered with stones, are a challenge to motorists. Even Stirling Moss went off the road here during a vintage car event in the 1990s, with an onboard video of his incident (Cor blimey!) being shown on satellite TV.

The Stelvio Pass does retain 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. Also, the Giro d'Italia often crosses the Stelvio Pass.