Until 1906, the Valcellina, with the municipalities of Andreis, Barcis, Claut, Cimolais and Erto, which in the 19th century had a total of ten thousand inhabitants, remained isolated due to the absence of roads. It could only be accessed through the par Crous path. With the construction of the Cellina hydroelectric plant, a service road was also built to reach what is now called the Old Dam. The continuation of the road from the dam to the Molassa hamlet, as far as the cart track leading to Barcis, was completed on the initiative of Aristide Zenari, since the Cellina Society did not intend to bear the costs.
In November 1906, engineer Zenari made the first journey by horse-drawn carriage from Montereale to Barcis. In the following years, in view of the Great War, the Military Engineers built connections with the remaining villages of the Valcellina and with the Piave valley.
Today the old road can only be visited for about one kilometre in its final stretch, in Barcis, overlooking the spectacular Cellina gorge, a reserve managed by the Park of the Friulian Dolomites.
