Road trip guide: Conquering the paved San Marco Pass
Passo San Marco is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 1,985m (6,512ft) located on the boundary between Bergamo and Sondrio provinces in the Italian region of Lombardy.
Is the road to Passo San Marco paved?
Set high in the Bergamo Alps, the road to the summit is fully paved. It’s called Strada Statale 470. Until 2021, the road was Strada Provinciale 8 (SP8) and was built in the years after World War II. The pass is part of an ancient route built by the end of the 16th century to connect Lombardy with the Grisons area. Close to the pass, at 1,830m above sea level, there is Ca San Marco, a house also built in the late 16th century to provide care to travelers during winter. The summit itself has a couple of monuments.
How long is Passo San Marco?
The road is closed to heavy trucks. The pass is 24.2 km (15.03 miles) long, running south-north from Mezzoldo (in the Province of Bergamo) to Albaredo per San Marco (in the Province of Sondrio). The pass has been climbed by the Giro d’Italia bicycle race. The road is never very steep, though (maximum 10%).