The work and the technique: A1 motorway, Italy

The construction of the Autostrada del Sole was entrusted to engineer Fedele Cova, CEO of Società Autostrade. The preliminary design and feasibility studies were carried out by SISI – Società Iniziative Stradali Italiane, a consortium jointly owned by Agip, FIAT, Italcementi, and Pirelli. SISI generously transferred the results of engineer Francesco Aimone Jelmoni’s studies to IRI. The final project was drafted by Italstrade.

To ensure widespread participation, the contract was awarded by dividing the route into hundreds of small sections, each just a few kilometers long. The goal was to involve as many Italian companies and bridge engineers as possible in building what was seen as the road of national unity.

The highway was built across one of the most challenging orographic landscapes in Europe, connecting Milan to Naples via Bologna, Florence, and Rome along the Apennine backbone.

Constructed at an average pace of 94 kilometers per year, the Autostrada del Sole includes 572 overpasses, 113 suspended viaducts, and 38 tunnels—a monumental feat of engineering that reshaped Italy’s postwar infrastructure.