Passo Giau Historical Timeline

Origins

The saddle was a herding and trading crossing between the Ampezzo and Fiorentina valleys long before there was a road -- high pasture used in summer and abandoned in winter.

Turning points

The modern road over the pass was built in the twentieth century, opening a crossing that had been a track. From the Cortina side it climbs in a long series of hairpins.

Influential people

The pass sits within the wider zone fought over in the First World War, though the front itself ran to the north and west across the Lagazuoi and the Tofane rather than here.

Cultural evolution

The Giro d'Italia made the climb famous. It is a category-one ascent, frequently decisive, and the modern race has used it repeatedly.

Present-day significance

The pass now carries heavy summer traffic -- cars, motorbikes and cyclists -- and has become one of the most photographed points in the Dolomites, which is both its appeal and its problem.