The ''Autostrada A10'', also known as the ''Autostrada dei Fiori'' or the ''AutoFiori'' ("fiori" meaning "flowers" in Italian), is an Italian motorway, passing through Liguria and connecting Genoa with Ventimiglia. It connects to the French

A8 autoroute The A8 autoroute, also known as La Provençale, is a -long highway in France that runs between Aix-en-Provence and the A7 to the Côte d'Azur. Route The A8 is an extension of the A7 starting to the west of Aix-en-Provence at La Fare-les-Olivi ...

, which finishes in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

, and forms part of European route E80. It is long.

History

The route from Genoa to Savona was opened on 5 September 1967, and the route from Savona to Ventimiglia was opened on 6 November 1971. Between Genoa and Savona, the highway has been improved three times in recent times: the northern route, in the direction of Ventimiglia, has been renovated, while the opposite direction, towards Genoa, is now the original road, which formerly consisted of both directions. Accordingly, this side is of lower quality than the other; the widening of the road to three lanes has necessitated the removal of the emergency lane, and a reduction of all lanes to less than - this is less than the regulations of the Italian highway code, and has in turn caused a reduction of the speed limit to for most of the section between

Albisola Albisola Superiore ( Genoese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northeast of Savona. Main sights *Medieval castle *Sanctuary of ''Madonna della ...

and Genoa Voltri. The route between Savona and the Italian border, on the other hand, is completely new, having been built in the sixties; it consists of two carriageways side by side, with two lanes in each direction. It has, however, no emergency lane, but includes several places in which it is suitable to make an emergency stop. On 14 August 2018, a section of the Ponte Morandi bridge that formed part of the A10 collapsed during a storm, killing 43 people.Crollo Genova, trovato l'ultimo disperso sotto le macerie: è l'operaio Mirko. Muore uno dei feriti, le vittime totali sono 43
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The Autostrada today

The route is currently run by two companies: from Genoa to Savona, by the company Autostrade Italy SpA, and from Savona to the border by Autostrada dei Fiori SpA. It has 22 entrances, and includes eight service stations. Much of the route is built on hillside, with a series of viaducts and tunnels; for this reason, the entire motorway requires paying a toll charge (one of the most expensive in Italy). Past Savona, the motorway visits Albenga,

Imperia Imperia (; lij, Inpêia or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Muss ...

, San Remo, and Ventimiglia: six kilometres from Ventimiglia, it reaches the border with France. Until the nineties, the border was marked by a change of stripe colour, from yellow to white, alongside a sign in the tunnel indicating the precise location of the border—this is now gone, although its former location can still be discerned from a change of lighting systems, and the different thicknesses of asphalt. In the opposite direction, the A10 intersects with the A6, towards Turin, the A26, towards the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and other major cities in the north of Italy, before finally joining the A7, towards Milan and Tuscany. The highway has 78 tunnels between Genoa and Nice.

Route

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:A10, Autostrada Buildings and structures completed in 1967 Autostrade in Italy Transport in Liguria