L’ascesa a Montevergine: progetti e interventi per la strada rotabile e la funicolare, 1850-1956

The challenge to climb Montevergine, reaching the Abbey by road or funicular, has to be considered among the major examples of the road and railway engineering building fervor typical of the period between 19th and 20th century in Campania. Before then it was quite impossible to reach that site as there were only three paths abandoned after the abolition of the monastic orders. The first project of the road, made up by engineer Abbondati, dates back to 1850, involving also some important Neapolitan engineers such as F. Bausan. The construction of that road, blocked several times, was completed only in 1931. In the same period the first project of a funicular was proposed by O. Du Mesnil, but it was never realized. Despite several proposals, in the first years of the 20th century the project by engineer Lanino was approved but it was completed only in 1956, after some adjustments.