The impassable, sometimes spectacular route created in the 18th century to unite the territories of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio with the states of Massa and Carrara takes the name Via Vandelli.
The last duke of Massa, Alderano I Cybo Malaspina (1690-1731), had passed away without fathering any sons; the eldest of the three daughters, Maria Teresa, was barely six years old when her father passed away, but soon ended up at the center of complex marital intrigue.
The union of the young heiress with Prince Ercole Rinaldo d’Este in 1738 sanctioned the political union of the Este and Cybeian domains, opening up to the expansionist aims of the Duke of Modena Francesco III. The latter, eager to obtain an outlet to the sea for his states, invested a large sum in plans for the construction of a fortified port on the beach of Avenza, near Carrara, and commissioned Domenico Vandelli (1691-1754) to provide for the opening of a new road that would allow a direct connection between Massa, Reggio and Modena.
A mathematician, geographer, and naturalist, Vandelli carefully mapped the territory to avoid excessive slopes, but he could do nothing against the steep slopes of the Apuan Alps: the first section of the road, ascending from the Massa side, was therefore built with dry-stone embankments to form scenic (and vertiginous) hairpin bends, up to an elevation of 1634 meters above sea level, near the Tambura Pass. The ancient route can be tackled today by following CAI path 35, starting from Resceto, but its conformation still makes it prohibitive in the winter months.
The journey was long and difficult: the first leg led from Massa to Vagli, and another half day was needed to touch Castelnuovo Garfagnana, where an Este-appointed governor resided. The third day would be needed to climb to San Pellegrino in Alpe and the Radici Pass, from where the “New Factory” near Lama nel Frignano would then be reached. Once past Pavullo it remained to take a smoother route that, passing through Sassuolo, would eventually lead to Modena or Reggio.
The only carriageable stretch remained the Emilian one, as far as Lama, while the rest of the journey had to be tackled on foot, horseback or mule; the most illustrious personages, such as Duchess Maria Teresa, could count, at best, on some luxurious but cramped sedan chair. All in all, the distance that today is covered, with highway stretches, in about two and a half hours, required a commitment that could range from three days (on horseback), up to a whole week; all among a thousand difficulties, despite the fact that the road was equipped with modern infrastructure for lodging and refreshments.
The Via Vandelli came into operation in 1751 and, from 1753, hosted a regular weekly mail service. Used mainly by small merchants, artisans and the military, it lost most of its function with the opening of the Abetone road (1781), which provided a faster connection between Tuscany and Emilia.
In recent times, the ancient route of the Via Vandelli has been the subject of a careful rediscovery: a project, supported by the Italian Alpine Club, FAI and twenty municipalities in Emilia and Tuscany, has included restoration work, the creation of appropriate hiking signs and the placement of tourist and cultural panels. A seven-stage walk, publicized with guidebooks, podcasts and videos, now makes it possible to follow the original route, with a few modern variants, safely, to be fascinated by a unique blend of history, nature and legend.
The adventurous road, in fact, has not failed to originate an oral tradition made up of ghosts, from the brigand of the Tambura to the so-called Pit of the Dead, where some salt merchants are said to have met a tragic fate, subdued by bad weather, whose wails would still be audible on snowy nights.