A strada provinciale (Italian for provincial road; pl. "strade provinciali"), abbreviated SP, is an Italian road that is maintained by provinces or metropolitan cities. In Veneto from 2002, state highways downgraded as provincial roads are maintained by the regional company Veneto Strade. A provincial road is less important than a regional road, but more important than municipal roads. The types of provincial roads are the same ones of state highways.
Before the entry into force of the new Italian Traffic Code (legislative decree n° 285 of 30 April 1992) the provincial classification of a road had to take place by decree of the Minister of Public Works; over the years, this has made the same procedures too centralized and therefore slower and more difficult, until the new highway code assigned the competence on classification to the regions [1] (Veneto, however, has further devolved the competences of classification and declassification to the provinces themselves). [2]
In the autonomous province of Bolzano, provincial roads are localized with the word "Landesstraße". The name generally used is "Landesstraße - Strada Provinciale" or, for short, "LS SP".
In the Aosta Valley region there are no provincial roads as the region has no provinces. An example is the SP50 of Colle del Nivolet, which ceases to be a provincial road when it enters Aosta Valley territory.
Provincial road is an administrative classification. The provincial road can be technically classified as strade extraurbane principali (type B road; "main extra-urban roads") or as strade extraurbane secondarie (type C road; "secondary extra-urban roads") or as strade locali extraurbane (type F road; "local extra-urban roads").
If they cross inhabited centers with a population exceeding 10,000 inhabitants, they are roads under municipal jurisdiction and therefore urban (type D and E). If they pass through centers or inhabited areas with a population equal to or less than 10,000 inhabitants, they are urban (type D, E or F), but the responsibility lies with the province.
According to a more extensive description provided by the law No. 126 12 February 1958, provincial roads were roads which: [3]
a) connect to the provincial capital the capitals of the individual municipalities of the respective province or to several capitals of municipalities between them;
b) connect to the state and provincial network the capitals of municipalities that are particularly important in terms of population or because they are home to notable industries or because they are centers of intense commercial activity or because they are climatic or tourist centers of notable importance;
c) connect provincial or municipal capitals to the nearest airports, railway stations, sea, lake or river ports;
d) constitute direct and important connections between provincial roads, or are recognized as necessary for the valorisation of important agricultural activities
— Law n°126 of 12 February 1958, article 4
which has become, with the new Italian Traffic Code: [4]
The roads are provincial when they connect to the provincial capital the capitals of the individual municipalities of the respective province or several capitals of municipalities together or when they connect the capitals of municipalities to the state or regional network, if this is particularly relevant for industrial reasons, commercial, agricultural, tourist and climatic.
— Italian Traffic Code
Provincial roads are identified by a number. In road signs and maps the number is preceded by the acronym SP, an acronym for strada provinciale ("provincial road"). In road signs the alphanumeric acronym is enclosed in a blue rectangle with a white acronym.
Italy has a well developed transport infrastructure. The Italian rail network is extensive, especially in the north, and it includes a high-speed rail network that joins the major cities of Italy from Naples through northern cities such as Milan and Turin. The Florence–Rome high-speed railway was the first high-speed line opened in Europe when more than half of it opened in 1977. Italy has 2,507 people and 12.46 km2 per kilometer of rail track, giving Italy the world's 13th largest rail network. The Italian rail network is operated by state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato, while the rail tracks and infrastructure are managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
Sp or SP may refer to:
A state highway, state road, or state route is usually a road that is either numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a state or province falls below numbered national highways in the hierarchy.
A dual carriageway (BrE) or a divided highway (AmE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are designed to higher standards with controlled access are generally classed as motorways, freeways, etc., rather than dual carriageways.
A routenumber, designation or abbreviation is an identifying numeric designation assigned by a highway authority to a particular stretch of roadway to distinguish it from other routes and, in many cases, also to indicate its classification, general geographical location and/or orientation. The numbers chosen may be used solely for internal administrative purposes; however, in most cases they are also displayed on roadside signage and indicated on maps.
The road hierarchy categorizes roads according to their functions and capacities. While sources differ on the exact nomenclature, the basic hierarchy comprises freeways, arterials, collectors, and local roads. Generally, the functional hierarchy can more or less correspond to the hierarchy of roads by their owner or administrator.
The autostrade are roads forming the Italian national system of motorways. The total length of the system is about 7,016 kilometres (4,360 mi), as of 30 July 2022. To these data are added 13 motorway spur routes, which extend for 355 kilometres (221 mi).
In Italy, the polizia provinciale are the provincial-level police forces.
A highway shield or route marker is a sign denoting the route number of a highway, usually in the form of a symbolic shape with the route number enclosed. As the focus of the sign, the route number is usually the sign's largest element, with other items on the sign rendered in smaller sizes or contrasting colors. Highway shields are used by travellers, commuters, and all levels of government for identifying, navigating, and organising routes within a given jurisdiction. Simplified highway shields often appear on maps.
Riccò del Golfo di Spezia is a comune (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southeast of Genoa and about 10 kilometres (6 mi) northeast of La Spezia.
Bientina is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany.
The Polizia Stradale is the national highway patrol of Italy and is a sub-directorate of the Italian State Police.
Road signs in Italy conform to the general pattern of those used in most other European countries, with the notable exception that the background of motorway (autostrada) signs is green and those for 'normal' roads is blue. They are regulated by the Codice della Strada and by the Regolamento di Attuazione del Codice della Strada in conformity with the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
The Strade Statali, abbreviated SS, is the Italian national network of state highways. The total length for the network is about 25,000 km (16,000 mi).
A strada regionale, abbreviated SR, is a type of Italian road maintained by the regions they traverse. A regional road is less important than a state highway, but more important than a provincial road.
A strada comunale, abbreviated SC, is an Italian road that is maintained by comune, hence the name. They can be roads owned by comune or roads managed by the comune. A municipal road is less important than a provincial road.
The Parco rurale sovracomunale "Civiltà delle Rogge", often called Parco delle Rogge, is a regional park of local interest as per regional law of Veneto 40/1984, art.27. It is included in the municipal territories of Bassano del Grappa, Cartigliano and Rosà, province of Vicenza, Veneto. The park was established under the provisions of Government of Veneto's deliberations no.801/2002, 1272/2002 e 3283/2002 and has an area of about 250 ha, of which 150 ha are within the municipality of Rosà.
Roads in Italy are an important mode of transport in Italy. The classification of the roads of Italy is regulated by the Italian traffic code, both from a technical and administrative point of view. The street nomenclature largely reflects the administrative classification. Italy is one of the countries with the most vehicles per capita, with 690 per 1000 people in 2010.
Strada statale 1 Via Aurelia it is one of the most important state highways in Italy and derives from an ancient consular road, the Via Aurelia. It connects Rome with France following the coast of Tyrrhenian Sea and Ligurian Sea and touching nine provincial capitals as well as important tourist locations.
Strada statale 35 dei Giovi is an Italian state highway, which connects Genoa and the Italian Riviera with Como and the Canton of Ticino, passing through Pavia and Milan. The road begins in Genoa in the Sampierdarena district where it constitutes an important urban crossing artery with the Reti and Fillak streets, and then ends in Como more precisely at the Customs House in Ponte Chiasso on the border with Switzerland. Between Tortona and Casteggio the SS 35 is in common with the strada statale 10, while the Milan-Cermenate section is a Superstrada, built around the 1960s known as Superstrada Milano-Meda.
