Why does Italy have so many tunnels?

And then we shouldn't forget that Italy, because of its topography and chain of mountains separating it from the rest of Europe, has had to make “a virtue out of necessity”, digging tunnels in order to create an efficient transport system both of railway and of road.



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Norway, which is considered the world's leader in tunnelling, has a whopping 900 tunnels, including the world's longest road tunnel.

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With its 57 km, the Gotthard base tunnel is the longest railway tunnel in the world, and the core of the new transalpine railway axis AlpTransit. The twin single track high speed rail tunnels run between Erstfeld and Bodio in Switzerland.

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1. -The Laerdal tunnel. With its 24.5 kilometers, Laerdal tunnel is the longest in the world, traversing several mountainous formations between Laerdal and Aurland, in western Norway.

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In cooperation with Rönesans Holding, the Heitkamp Construction Swiss GmbH tunnel and railroad construction specialists constructed the world's longest and deepest tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel. This 57 kilometre-long tunnel lies at a depth of 2,300 metres.

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In 1876, then minister of public works Giuseppe Zanardelli declared: “Above or below the waves, Sicily must be united to the Continent.” But the tunnel was deemed too expensive and complex, and instead efforts were put into starting a ferry service, which began in 1896.

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Believe it or not, under the town of Orvieto is an elaborate maze of tunnels and caverns. Over 2,500 years ago, the Etruscan civilization dug deep into the earth to supply their town with water.

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Fritchley Tunnel is a disused railway tunnel at Fritchley in Derbyshire, England, which is believed to be the oldest surviving example in the world.

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10 of the world's greatest tunnels
  • Seikan Tunnel (Japan) — ...
  • Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (China) — ...
  • Gotthard Base Tunnel (Switzerland) — ...
  • Lærdal Tunnel (Norway) — ...
  • Channel Tunnel (UK and France) — ...
  • Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line (Japan) — ...
  • Eisenhower Tunnel (Colorado) — ...
  • Spiralen tunnel (Norway) —


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Learn with Us! These unexplained passages number in the thousands, and are located in a mix of European countries. There are around 2,000 known erdstall tunnels throughout Europe, with the highest concentrations in Bavaria (some 700), and Austria (another 500). They have also been found in France and Great Britain.

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