Driving the road to San Marco Pass

Passo San Marco is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 1.985m (6,512ft) located in the Italian region of Lombardy.

Located in the Bergamo Alps, the road to the summit is called Strada Provinciale 8 and it was built in the years after the World War II. It’s paved and links Val Brembana with Valtellina. Close to the pass, at 1.830m above the sea level, there is Ca San Marco a house also built in the late 16th century to provide care to the travelers during winter time. The summit itself has a couple of monuments. The road is closed to heavy trucks. The pass is part of an ancient route built by end of 16th century to connect Lombardy with the Grisons area.

The pass has been climbed by the Giro d’Italia bicycle race. There are 2 routes to reach the summit. Starting from Morbegno, the ascent is 26.6 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 1.742 meters. The average percentage is 6.5 %. And starting from Olmo al Brembo, the ascent is 18.2 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 1.429 meters. The average percentage is 7.9 %. Both climbs are roughly similarly hard. The road is never very steep though (maximum 9%).