From Autocamionale della Cisa to Salt

The A15 Motorway came into being at the same time as Italy’s economic and social growth. In the 1960s, the country experienced strong development and a new-found need for adequate solutions to the requirements emerging from post-war recovery.

Cars were symbolic of a new kind of life, and their use in those years became increasingly widespread as an alternative to a coach or train.

The need for a fast and effective network of connections, as well as the prospect of economic and tourist relations, prompted public administrators and commercial operators to assess innovative strategies that might overcome the natural obstacles that, in the Parma-La Spezia stretch, were represented first and foremost by the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine mountain system, particularly in the area of the Cisa Pass.

The opening of the first Fornovo-Selva del Bocchetto stretch of the Autocamionale della Cisa motorway dates back to 2 August 1969. Named after the primary purpose of its construction, it facilitated the transport of goods by road from the north to the commercial ports of Liguria and Tuscany.

Much road and many journeys and projects have been developed over the years, resulting in a well-articulated and fully integrated road network in the territory leading from Emilia-Romagna to Tuscany and Liguria, along the Magra valley to the port city of La Spezia, following a route with very old origins.

On 1 November 2017, Autocamionale della Cisa S.p.A. was merged by incorporation into SALT p.a., the Concessionaire of the A12 Sestri Levante-Livorno stretches with Viareggio-Lucca turnoffs and the A15 Fornola-La Spezia.

Following the expiry of the Single Convention signed with the Grantor on 31/07/2019, SALT has managed the Ligurian-Tuscan stretch of the motorway, operating under an extension issued by the Italian Ministry for Infrastructure and Transport, until 31 May 2024.