The A15 is an Italian autostrada (motorway) connecting

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

and

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

through the valleys of the

Taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

and

Magra __NOTOC__ The Magra is a long river of Northern Italy, which runs through Pontremoli, Filattiera, Villafranca in Lunigiana and Aulla in the province of Massa-Carrara (Tuscany); Santo Stefano di Magra, Vezzano Ligure, Arcola, Sarzana and Amegli ...

Rivers. The road is also known as Autostrada della Cisa because it crosses the

Northern Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

at the Cisa pass. The main 101-km expanse of the motorway connects the A1 with the A12 (

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

- Rosignano Marittimo), thus directly linking 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 ...

with the

Italian Riviera The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( it, Riviera ligure; lij, Rivêa lìgure) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinall ...

and the

Versilia Versilia is a part of Tuscany in the north-western province of Lucca and southern part of Massa-Carrara, and is named after the Versilia river. Known for fashionable Riviera resorts, it consists of numerous clubs that are frequented by local celebr ...

region. The toll road is operated by the company Autocamionale della Cisa S.p.A. The franchisee's current toll charges are: car or motorcycle, €10.40; Overheight vehicle (>1.3m), €10.70; 3 Axles, €14.40; 4 Axles, €22.70; 5 or more Axles, €26.30.Autostrade per l'Italia S.p.A.
At the 9-km mark, drivers are welcomed by a curious monument, a tuft of steel and cement sculpted by Luigi Magnani and placed in the traffic island between the two carriageways. The monument is visible to motorists coming from the A1.

History

The first phase of this

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

, dating to the 1950s, was designed to provide an alternative route between the Po Valley and the coastal

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

. The construction required several

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

s and tunnels to attain the maximum altitude of 745 metres above sea level at the entrance of the tunnel crossing. Built as a dual carriageway (divided highway), it is very curvilinear and challenging to drive and, therefore, has long been used for testing new heavy duty vehicles. Except for short stretches of the highway, the

road surface A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cobbles ...

is not porous or fitted with

storm drain A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, United States, U.S. and Canada), surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to Drainage, drain excess rain and ground water ...

s, making it difficult to negotiate during heavy rain.

Route

The motorway begins from the A1, near

. From the Parma Ovest (West Parma) exit the highway climbs through the Taro Valley with exits to

Fornovo di Taro Fornovo di Taro ( egl, label=Parmigiano, Fornóv) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Parma, in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Parma. The town lies on the east bank of the Ta ...

Borgotaro Borgo Val di Taro, usually referred to as Borgotaro, (Parmigiano: ; locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in Emilia, Italy, in the Province of Parma, from the city of Parma. Borgo Val di Taro is an important centre for cattle husbandry in Emilia and ...

and the village of

Berceto Berceto (Parmigiano: , or ; lij, Bercèi) is a village and ''comune'' in Italy, located in the Apennine Mountains on the main road between La Spezia and Parma, in the Taro River valley, in the region of Emilia-Romagna. The main church in the ci ...

, all within the

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

region. After traversing the tunnel, the highway continues into

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, with exits to Pontremoli and

Aulla Aulla is a ''comune'' in the province of Massa and Carrara, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located in the valley of the River Magra. Geology In 1977, the Italian geologist Augusto Azzaroli discovered a series of mammal rests with a correlated f ...

. Shortly after entering

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

it intersects the A12 at

Santo Stefano di Magra Santo Stefano di Magra ( lij, San Steva, Lunigiano egl, Sa' Steu) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa and about northeast of La Spezia. It is located near t ...

, a few kilometres from

. There are five service stations and rest areas along the way. Provincial Abbreviations: PR =

; MS = Massa-Carrera; SP =

Proposed construction

A plan to extend the motorway route to the north through

Fontevivo Fontevivo (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northwest of Parma. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,337 and an a ...

, Martignana di Po and

Nogarole Rocca Nogarole Rocca is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about southwest of Verona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,088 and an area of .All demograph ...

, linking to the A22 (the ''Autobrennero'') around

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

, has been proposed. Land has been secured both for straightening the present route through the construction of new viaducts and tunnels and for the proposed extension. The town of Villafranca in Lunigiana and neighbouring municipalities have petitioned for opening such a new toll motorway. Negotiations have begun with private motorway companies and the

Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

External links

Autocisa S.p.A.

Notes

{{Autostrade A15 Transport in Emilia-Romagna Transport in Liguria