The Via Vandelli: Modena - Massa
The Via Vandelli connects Modena and Massa
Duke Francesco III d'Este requested Domenico Vandelli to draw up a project for a modern, easy-to-maintain road that would only pass through the territories of the Duchy of Este. The first project of 1738 retraces the Via Bibulca. The second project of 1739 is the most innovative and legendary. The slip road from Sassuolo was built in 1750. It is a road that is product of the Enlightenment, a ruler and his designer, the first European road designed and equipped with infrastructure for accommodation and refreshment, a gigantic work of human ingenuity. Today it is largely hidden under modern roads, or fades into paths, or disappears into meadows and forests.
The tracks of the walking route have been designed to be as easy, safe and interesting as possible, but at the same time adhering to the original 18th-century route of the Via Vandelli wherever feasible.
Discover all the stages of the Via Vandelli and the two municipalities of the Terre di Castelli that cross the path: Castelvetro di Modena and Castelnuovo Rangone.
The way is one