The Raticosa pass () is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in the Tuscan-Emilian

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

with an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. It is located close to the small town of Pietramala in the municipality of

Firenzuola Firenzuola is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence, in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northeast of Florence. Firenzuola borders the following municipalities: Barberino di Mugello, Borgo San Lorenzo, Cast ...

, which forms part of the

Metropolitan City of Florence The Metropolitan City of Florence () is an administrative division called metropolitan city in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Florence. It replaced the province of Florence. It was first created by the reform of local a ...

(

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

). Surrounding peaks include the Canda hill (901 m), (1158 m), (1264 m), and (1290 m), the source of the

Idice The Idice is a river in the Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy. The source of the river is in the province of Florence near Monghidoro in the Appennino Tosco-Emiliano mountains. The river flows north into the province of Bologna near Mo ...

, a river that runs into

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

where it feeds the

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. The Raticosa is traversed by the strada statale (SS) at a point about 12 km north of the

Futa pass The Futa Pass or La Futa Pass () is a Pass (geography), pass in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, at an elevation of . It is located in the ''comune'' of Firenzuola, in the Metropolitan City of Florence. It separates the valleys of Mugello (region), M ...

. Before the advent of the Autostrada del Sole in 1964, the – as the road is commonly known in Italian – was for two centuries the main thoroughfare connecting

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. Fully viable from 1762, it was a key component of a major road-building project initiated and overseen by the new Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, following his investiture in 1739. Until it opened, the ascent to the Raticosa had been prohibitively steep, and the two cities had been poorly connected by the (heading in the direction of

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

). The new road, which was capable of carrying wheeled vehicles, cut the journey time by horseback or mule from 2–3 days to a single day. Although the economic benefits for Tuscany turned out to be less favorable than expected, it remained for many years one of two principal thoroughfares connecting

central Italy Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...

with the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...

. Towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the stretch of the road around the Futa and Raticosa passes became a focus of heavy fighting. As part of their advance towards northern Italy in 1944, the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

were determined to penetrate through the Futa and Raticosa passes, which had been identified as one of the two most vulnerable zones of the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (; ) was a German and Italian defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains du ...

in the upper Apennines (the other being the Giogo pass). The Raticosa featured prominently in many editions of the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts :it:Franco Mazzotti, Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times f ...

open-road motorsport endurance race (1927–1957). Since 1977, the pass has marked the finish line for the Bologna-Raticosa

time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, a competition for

classic car A classic car is typically described as an automobile 25 years or older, although a car's age is not the only requirement it must meet before being considered a "classic." However, a standard criteria for recognizing cars as classics does not ex ...

s, which by 2024 had reached its thirty-fifth edition.

Road cycling race Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

s have been held along the Bologna-Raticosa route since 1931. The pass also provides a popular climb for cyclists more generally. The Raticosa also features in

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trails around Pietramala. Motorcyclists often meet up at the pass, where they frequent the 'chalet' bar.

Gallery

File:1920s Raticosa SITA bus.jpg, A public bus crossing the Raticosa pass in the 1920s. File:1927-03-27 Mille Miglia winner OM 665 Minoia Morandi.jpg, The eventual

winners Winners Merchants International L.P. is a chain of off-price Canadian department stores owned by TJX Companies. Its market niche is similar to the American chain TJ Maxx, and it is a partnered retailer to department stores HomeSense and Marshall ...

of the 1927 Mille Miglia crossing the Raticosa. File:1931-04-12 Mille Miglia Passo Raticosa winner Mercedes SSKL Caracciola e Sebastian.jpg, The 1931 Mille Miglia at the Raticosa. File:Gothic Line - Concept of OperationOlive 1944.png, Map showing the planned Allied assault on the

in 1944: one of the two main spearheads through the upper Apennines was along the SS 65 towards the Futa and 'Radicosa' passes in the direction of Bologna. File:Raticosa pass 2.JPG, Motorcycles parked alongside the 'chalet' bar.

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

Wikimedia Commons
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/span> Mountain passes of Tuscany Mountain passes of the Apennines Transport in Tuscany Metropolitan City of Florence

Gallery

See also

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links