The Piottino Gorge flows through the Ticino River and separates Alta Leventina from the Media Leventina with a difference in altitude of about 150 meters.
The gorge was always a major obstacle on the Gotthard road, as it is very narrow and surrounded by high rocks. So it was only at the end of the 14th century that a mule track ran through the gorge. The Gotthardbahn company built to overcome the caused by the Piottino gorge height difference, the two spiral tunnels Freggio and Prato.