Few roads in Europe have a reputation as large as the Stelvio, and for once it is deserved. At 2,757 metres, it is one of the highest paved passes in the Alps, and the road up from the Trafoi side is a staircase of forty-eight numbered hairpins stacked against the mountainside, while the Bormio side has about forty of its own, longer and more open. Engineers of the Austrian empire built it in the 1820s to link Lombardy with the Tyrol, under the direction of Carlo Donegani, and it was meant for horse-drawn carts, which explains why the bends are so tight.
The riding is a pleasure and a test. The surface is generally good, but the road is narrow, with buses and campers taking up the full width on the hairpins, so you ride carefully and look well ahead. The best moments come on the stretches between hairpins, where the road opens out, and the view down the valley, with the pale ribbon of tarmac folded back and forth, is an image you will remember. The summit is a busy place in summer, with souvenir stalls, sausage vans and a crowd of motorbikes. To the south-west stands the Ortler, at 3,905 metres the highest mountain in the eastern Alps, and glaciers glitter above the road.
The pass was a front line in the First World War. Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops fought at extraordinary heights, in trenches and tunnels cut in the ice, and relics still turn up as the glaciers shrink. The Giro d'Italia has crossed the Stelvio many times, and the highest point of the race is named after Fausto Coppi. At the top, a short road leads off to the Umbrail Pass and Switzerland, a quieter, partly unpaved alternative.
Plan carefully. The pass is usually open from around late May or June until October or early November, depending on snow, and it can close at short notice. Weather changes quickly, with cold, rain and even snow possible in July, so carry warm layers. Start early, before the traffic builds, and you may have the hairpins nearly to yourself, with the light low and golden on the rocks.