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The old via Vandelli, road of major historical importance, then replaced by the
modern and more practicable Via Giardini, was built, on commission by the Duke
of Modena, Francesco III d’Este, by the engineer Abate Domenico Vandelli
in 1738, in order to allow communication between Modena and
Massa,
through the Apennine mountain pass and the
Apuan Alps.
Starting from Massa (MS), and following the via della Bassa Tambura one gets to
Resceto, from where the road starts. For territorial reasons, it couldn’t go
through the Pontifical State, the Grand duchy (Granducato) of Tuscany nor the
Duchy (Ducato) of
Lucca.
The road suffered from these impediments. Once built, it turned out to be
beautiful to see but in reality not very practical, above all because of the
typical high mountain weather and snow which made the crossing of the Apennine
chain difficult.
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People avoided to travel it also because it was populated and infested by
brigands and the laws made by the Duke in order to avoid its decline, i.e. laws
planning to give free concession of pieces of lands to those who intended to
build houses and structures along the road, were of no avail.
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The abandonment of the road made the engineer Vandelli go into a crisis and kill
himself. The via Vandelli, which was directed towards Sasso Tignoso, above
Sant’Anna Pelago, often keeping itself in ascent, then crossed the Alpe of San
Pellegrino. It is still possible to take and enjoy a portion of this part of the
road, a part well preserved and panoramic which goes through a series of truly
amazing landscapes.
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Along the way, there are still traces of the path that lead to an old
iron mine and after a few steep turns, one gets to the “Vandelli
window”, a clear cut in the rock created to allow at the time the
parking of the stagecoaches, beyond which was found the Refuge of the
CAI Nello Conti. In
the part that goes down towards the Garfagnana,
it is possible to watch, during the draining of the basin, the village
that was submerged by the lake of Vagli (Fabbriche di Careggine) as the
via Vandelli goes through it, crossing the typical bridge. The road
continues from here towards Vagli di Sopra to reach the Pass of the
Tambura which was widened artificially with mines in order to let the
road (Via) go through it, going down towards Resceto.
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On this part of the road, there are many signs of the time when the road was
used as a path for the sliding down of marble blocs. The sliding down of the
marble blocs is celebrated precisely here each year by the Alta Tambura
Association.
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The Coast