801 - T. Reiff, “Via Mala”, covered wagon on the pass road in the Viamala gorge, Graubünden, 1891

T. Reiff, “Via Mala”, covered wagon on the pass road in the Viamala gorge, Graubünden, 1891 oil on canvas, signed and dated (18)91 lower right, inscribed with a dedication verso, “Via Mala”, the road through the rock-lined gorge in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, in the centre a horse-drawn covered wagon on the path cut into the rock with a wooden railing at the edge of the drop, above it a rock overhang with the entrance to a tunnel, on the right stacked tree trunks, on the left the steeply falling gorge, on the rocks conifers and a deciduous tree in autumn colours, landscape with Alpine pass road, good condition commensurate with age, image 27x37 cm (HxW), framed, frame chipped, frame width 6.5 cm The Viamala, Romansh Veias malas, is the gorge of the Hinterrhein between Thusis and Zillis-Reischen and is mentioned as early as 1219 as the “evil way”. It was the greatest obstacle on the northern approach to the Splügen Pass and the San Bernardino; since late antiquity it was overcome with half-galleries and footbridges. In the Viamala letter of 1473 the valley communities resolved to extend the route, and in 1738/1739 two bridges moved the route to the right side of the basin. Between 1818 and 1823 the first road passable for vehicles throughout was built, for which the cantonal engineer Richard La Nicca laid out a new alignment with tunnels. Since 1967 the A13 motorway has bypassed the Viamala basin in a tunnel.