At the beginning of the 19th century, the provinces of Ascoli and Fermo, then part of the Papal States, were connected by two main roads: one running along the Adriatic coast and the other ran along the Tronto River valley near the border with the Kingdom of Naples. To improve trade between the two provinces, the municipalities of Servigliano, Santa Vittoria and Montefalcone joined forces to create a link road that ran from Comunanza, in the Aso valley, and Servigliano in the Tenna valley. Opened in 1837, the Montefalcone Road Tunnel represents a major engineering achievement, and is considered the first tunnel built in Italy in nearly 1,400 years since the fall of the Roman Empire.
