Ferragosto traffic tests Liguria's coastal arteries

The coming weekend brings some of the heaviest traffic Italy will see this summer, according to warnings from Italy's motorway operator, as millions of holidaymakers take to the roads for the Ferragosto holiday. The annual mid-August exodus, which marks the peak of the Italian summer, is expected to clog motorways and coastal roads across the country, with the operator advising travellers to plan for significant delays.

For Liguria, the warning carries particular weight. The region's narrow coastal plain, hemmed between the mountains and the sea, funnels holiday traffic along the A10 and A12 motorways that connect the French border to the port of Genoa and on towards Tuscany. These are the same arteries that carry freight to and from the port of Genoa, one of the Mediterranean's busiest container hubs, and a weekend of gridlock threatens to slow both tourism and commerce.