The München-Venezia cycle route continues from Sottocastello following the historic via Alemagna. The road is part of a historic route linking the Tirol with the Venetian Republic, and was used by travellers heading not just for Venezia, but to the Mediterranean. It is also known as the Via Regia — the imperial road, reflecting the fact that it was used by Maximilian I and other emperors invading, or travelling to, Venezia.

After the destruction of the Repubblica Veneziana by Napoleon, the Veneto became Austrian territory. The Austrian governor decided to upgrade the road, and the contract to build it was awarded to Antonio Talachini (who was also one of the contractors who built the roads over the Passo dello Stelvio). The 130-kilometre long road was opened in 1830.

This section of the original imperial road has now been replaced by the modern SS51 which runs through a series of long tunnels, leaving the old road for (sparse) local traffic and cyclists.

The road follows the Piave river as it carves its way between the Friuli and Veneto Dolomites. The scenery is every bit as grand as the previous section.

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After Sottocastello there’s a shortish stretch of ciclabile that means you can avoid the busy main road.

There’s then a dramatic descent on the old Via Alemagna down into the valley of the Piave river and the village of Perarlo di Cadore. The road was built in the early nineteenth century to link the Veneto with Austria. It was superseded with the construction of the newer, faster version of the SS51 and most through traffic takes the new road, meaning that the old road is now mainly used by local residents.

The gorge gets narrower, and the mountains loom over you – my neck started to ache from constantly looking up. This road is as dramatic as any you find in other parts of the Dolomites (we are still in the Dolomites). Then, at the point where you’d have to rejoin the strada statale, there’s a fabulous cycleway along the river.

This cycleway takes you into the area of the comune di Longarone, but not into Longarone itself.

The Lunga Via delle Dolomiti: cyclists riding the new cycleway on the banks of the Piave near Castello Lavazzo

The Diga di Vajont (Vajont dam)

As you ride through the area you may notice some roadside memorials. They are memorials to one of Europe’s worst industrial disasters: in the evening of the 9 October 1963, a huge landslide into the lake behind the dam sent a massive 250 metre-high wave over the top of the dam that came crashing down on Longarone on the other side of the river destroying the town. Nearly two thousand people died in the disaster in Longarone and the surrounding area: the wall of water was 30 metres high when it hit nearby Castello Lavazzo and Codissago and more than 12 metres high when it hit Belluno and Ponte nelle Alpi further down river. Read more on en.wikipedia.org: Vajont Dam

The campanile of the church at Pirago which somehow remained standing after the surrounding village was completely destroyed. Source Wikipedia Commons

The route takes you past the dam – although it’s not particularly visible from the road.

From the memorial and the diga you carry on along the road and turn right as if to go over the bridge over the Piave, but just before the bridge you need to turn sharp right, go under the bridge and then follow a very, very, quiet road that follows the course of the river.

The route takes you the ENEL electricity generation plant at Soverzene. When I rode this route in 2015, you then had to cross over the river and head for Ponte nelle Alpi where there was a section of 2.5 kilometres on the busy SS51. The local authorities in the area have built new cycleways meaning the that you can stay on this side of the Piave river and avoid the busy road. At the ENEL plant you turn left (signposted with a München-Venezia sign), after 20 metres there is a small entrance, between two high sections of chain link fencing, onto the new section of the route (also signed with the München-Venezia sign). Many thanks to Bill C who provided the information on this.

Via Alemagna: sign on a maintenance depot

Articles in this series

• München-Venezia Overview
• München-Venezia: 1: München to Achenkirch
• München-Venezia: 2: Achenkirch to Hall-in-Tirol
• München-Venezia: 3: Hall-in-Tirol to Brenner
• München-Venezia: 4: Brenner to Fortezza Franzensfeste
• München-Venezia: 5: the PusterTal (Fortezza Franzensfeste to Toblach)
• München-Venezia: 6: the Ciclabile delle Dolomiti
• München-Venezia: 7: the Via Alemagna (Sotto Castello di Cadore to the Lago di Santa Croce)
• München-Venezia: 8: the Lago di Santa Croce to Treviso
• München-Venezia: 9: Treviso to Venezia