Detour #50: San Boldo Pass, Italy
The San Boldo Pass packs some impressive stats into its 11 miles. 18 hairpin bends, five tunnels and six bridges take you from Trichiana to Tovena in northern Italy.
From Trichiana Strada Provinciale 635 takes you through open meadows, dipping downward through a series of tight bends to enter Sant’ Antobo Tortal. Wind through the village and soon the fields give way to forest. The road begins its gentle climb through curve after curve to reach San Boldo.
From here it gets really interesting. Stone walls envelop the narrow road and it’s a matter of moments before you reach the first of the traffic-light controlled tunnels. The good news is that there’s never any on-coming traffic as you navigate the tight and twisty tubes. The bad news is that the speed limit is just 30km/h, so no heroics here.
After the following 700m-long arm-twirling series of corners, bridges and tunnels you’ll come out at the high point of the pass. Do stop and look down, you’ll hardly believe the road when you see it from above.
At corner 16 you can stop at Al Babau for rustic fare or pick a pizza from Al Paradiso at corner 18, before the straight shot into Tovena. Both restaurants are used to feeding the hoards of hungry cyclists who tackle the San Boldo, but anyone is welcome.
The Pass has a past as dark as its five tunnels. Built by the Austro-Hungarian army in 1918 to supply the front, it was constructed on the backs of 1,400 prisoners of war, women and children in just three months and earning the name “The Road of 100 days.”
It won’t even take 100 minutes to drive, but you won't forget this extraordinary road.
Words Nik Berg Twitter | Instagram
Photography Shutterstock / Blaz Erzetic / Unsplash
ROADBOOK
Class: Tunnels and turns
Name: Passo San Boldo
Route: Trichiana to Tovena
Country: Italy
Distance: 11 miles