Passo dello Stelvio

Did you know that the Stelvio pass was officially opened in 1825 under supervision of Emperor Ferdinand. This fact is linked to an interesting geopolitical history. The Habsburg Empire obtained the rule over Lombardy 10 years before. This was agreed during the Congress of Vienna in 1815. And therefore it was necessary to have a "smooth" connection with Lombardy. So they built a road from Valtellina to Val Ventoso. Upon completion, 2500 men had worked for five years to create teh connection. The works were supervised by architect Carlo Donegani from Brescia.