THE ROADS OF ITALY

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 36, 11 August 1934, Page 26

THE ROADS OF ITALY

WONDERFUL HIGHWAYS

ACCESS TO ALL POINTS

Italy's famous West Coast highway, the route of which was laid in the preChristian era and which extends for over a thousand miles from the Alps^in the north to tho Straits of Messina in tlio south, is now completely modernised, writes Hamilton M. Wright in the "New York Times." The road is com-" pletely paved with asphalt from Ventimiglia, on tho Franco-Italian border, all tho way to Villa San Giovanni, in tho southern tip of Italy.

The West Coast highway was ono of tho first projects, upon -iv.hich .improvements were begun in the elaborate road-building programmes undertaken by Italy in 1922. Starting from Modanc, in'the north-west corner of the country at the French border, or from Ventimiglia, on the Italian Eiviera, it is now possible for motorists to make an uninterrupted 2000-mile tour, including the celebrated Italian shore line and the Island of Sicily, and ■ to wind back inland through regions rarely before visited to gain' the Adriatic shore. From Milan one may skirt the famous lake regions of interior Northern Italy.

A similar start can be made on tho tour beginning at Trieste. The Autonomous Road Corporation, of which every ear owner in Italy is a member, was established by law in 192S

to take over the-care of all national highways. It brought more than 6000 miles of national,highways up to tho finest modern standards, and during tho past six years has planted 000,000 shade trees. In addition, secondary roads, with an aggregate length of more than 93,000 miles, have also been improved. They are important to visitors because they provide convenient access to many little, towns off'the beateu path.

Improvements of the highways started from Some. The 150-mile road between Rome and, Naples, finished in 1931, can. easily be travelled in four hours. The. distance ,has actually been coveredin; two-hours and ten minutes, thirty-five minutes"'.under the , fastest train schedule, between the two cities. That part of the West Coast highway between Rome and Ventimiglia follows the famous.old ' Via Aurclia, which unites . Rome to the French frontier,' following- tho seashore nearly all the way. ■ It. runs' the whole length of the Italian Riviera,, passing through Bordighcra, Ospedaletti and Sanßemo, then on to Genoa. ■• ;

From Turin-th'c motorist has a'direct route' to Savona; on the Via Aureliu, so that from any -part of North-western Italy one can' conveniently • take in the west coastal route, which is among the most magnificent scenic drives in Europe. -Rarely out of sight of .the Mediterranean,. at times looking - over the sea, from. mountains several thousand feet in' height,' tho motorist can speed over an already completed asphalt highway to Norvi, Santa Margherita, Bapallo, Sestri, Levante, and other resorts, to Leghorn, Rome, and thence by: either an inland' or coastal route to Naples and Salerno, beyond which, at the .little town of Paestum, the road is now completed.

' Tho beautiful highway that' skirts tho Bay of Naples past Pompeii and the flanks of-Vesuvius sends a fine branch route to the precipitous cliffs above the bay. to' Sorrento. But tho main line turns southTcast to Salerno and thence into Southern Italy, all tho way to historic Scylla,. at tho. very "toe" of tho famous "boot." At one point of this route you can see both tho Tyrrhenian, and the lonic Seffs. One of the.most startling highways in the world is tho newly completed route from Taormiua to tho volcano Etna, in tho mountainous heart of Sicily. Tho road goes up from Taormina Station for a. distance of twelve or. thirteen miles where it joins the new construction at a height of 2100 feet. Thence .the new road climbs the slopes of tho great volcano to a height of 6500 feet before it begins to descend. From tbjs point one can see approximately 80 miles in every direction.

The Adriatic, coast road to Bavenua is entirely completed; also the maguir ficiont straight links between Ravenna and tho little city of Lodi, less than half an.hour's run from Milan.

The1 new Bimini-Bologna-Milan road, connecting the Adriatic Sea'at IJimini on the east coast with Milan, follows the old Via Emilia passing through towns famed for learning and tho importance for their artistic treasures.

The highway from Milan to Venice, passing by way of Brescia and Bergamo, which "is a jumping-off place for roads to Lakes Como and Maggiore, is an asphalt boulevard 50 feet wide. A two-mile bridge spans the lagoon between Mestre, on tho mainland, and Venice. : , : . . .

An outstanding highway in the lake district is the 'Gardesena, a masterwork of • engineering from which can bo seen allthe beauties of Lake Garda, now completely encircled by modern roads. Also of great beauty are the Sirnplon and Lako Miiggioro roads and tho Lake Como and Splu'rga road, reached quickly from Milan by • the new Milan-Lakes Highway. .'

Between. Milan and' Genoa, 100 miles of Toad is now being; built especially for trucks. From ,'Turin .to Brescia, around Milan, . throughout the lake region from' Florence to Pisa, Rome to Ostia, and from Naples to Pompeii several now highways called "autostrada" arc limited exclusively, to passenger cars, with no crossings of'railway; tracks or. side roads...