Gardesana Occidentale – A journey into the past

The most famous section of the “Gardesana Occidentale”, as the State Road 45 between Brescia (Lombardy) and Trento (Trentino) is known, is the part between Gargnano and Riva del Garda on Lake Garda. Built in the 1930s, it was the first time many towns on the western shore of the lake were directly connected by road. It is a remarkable achievement how engineers and construction workers created a road along the steep rock faces: narrow, winding and with many tunnels and galleries blasted into the rock. Today, many admire and describe it as a “dream road”.

The route is often laid out on the steep banks high above the water. The views of the lake and the mountains are breathtaking. They have already provided magnificent backdrops for film and television. In between lie picturesque villages which, with their Mediterranean lifestyle and atmosphere in particular, fuelled the German passion for Italy. However, back then, no one was thinking about lorries and vehicles of today’s size. In many places, you still drive on the original route and over or through original structures. Many natural stone tunnels are therefore still limited to a maximum headroom of 3.5 m, are unlit and very narrow.

With the rise of motorised tourists from the 1970s at the latest, the road brought dirt and noise along with the travellers and their money. In Limone sul Garda, I was able to watch the traffic through a gallery window for a while. This “window” offered a perfect vantage point to see the continuous flow of traffic passing by in short snapshots: motorcyclists, car drivers, coaches and the many cyclists share the narrow route, often in long queues. Overtaking is hardly possible. So, always stay focused on the road, even if it’s difficult given the view.

My old Bianchi racing bike would be an appropriate vintage mode of transport here – or a small convertible, which a tour group used to travel in great style years ago.