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THE PLACES OFTHE FIRST WORLD WAR In VALLAgARInA

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Text Italian War History Museum

Graphic Design Designfabrik

PhotographsPaolo Aldi - The Peace Bell FoundationAlessandro AndreolliLucio Angheben - Pasubio100anni AssociationAPT Rovereto and VallagarinaTrekking photo archive, photos by Massimiliano VassuraRovereto Municipal Archive, photos by Carlo Baronigiuliana Baldessarinicola CampostriniLaura Casarotto RomerMunicipality of TerragnoloTommaso Dossi“E. Roner” Caving groupMarco IschiaMART - Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and RoveretoPaolo MondiniTrento Science MuseumItalian War History MuseumAnna PisettiSAT RoveretoFrancesco SilliDepartment of Cultural Heritage, photos by Studio RensiArianna TamburiniAntonio ZandonatiAlessandra Zanoni

Municipality of VallagarinaVia Tommaseo 5, Roveretowww.comunitadellavallagarina.tn.it

Comunità dellaVallagarina

For booking information and further information about the places www.trentinograndeguerra.itwww.museodellaguerra.it

Tourist informationwww.visitrovereto.it

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One of the many reasons to visit Vallagarina is the large amount of First World War evidence in the area.Often, the sites are easily accessible and suitable for families, appealing to history enthusiasts and hikers alike. Mountain roads and paths wind along picturesque routes that follow the old front line and the Path of Peace.

Through enormous effort, the Italian and Austro-Hungar-ian armies created two opposing defensive systems be-tween 1915 and 1918, consisting of trenches, gun em-placements, tunnels, shelters, cableways and aqueducts. The population was evacuated and tens of thousands of soldiers lived in its place for three and a half years, many of whom died in combat.

Rovereto is home to some of the most important Italian institutions dedicated to the memory of the war. Twenty thousand fallen Austrians and Italians rest in the great Shrine of Rovereto. The Peace Bell rings a hundred times every night as a warning against war. The Italian War His-tory Museum, in the halls of Rovereto Castle, documents the history of the conflict.

Several cultural events mark the start of the First World War Centenary. The Mart has organised an exhibition en-titled “The War That Will Come Is Not the First: the Great War 1914-2014”, there is the exhibition “Dying for Trento/Sterben für Trient” at the Italian War History Museum, as well as the opening of Fort Pozzacchio, and this year’s Pil-grimage for Peace organised for the summer by the Peace Bell Foundation. Recently restored historical sites will also be opened.

It will not, therefore, be an anniversary marked by short-term events. The Community of Vallagarina invites you to visit the many remnants of that tragic event and to reflect on a shared, national and European history.

Stefano BisoffiPresident of the Community of Vallagarina

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Val Di GreSTa The Austrian connecting point between the Adige and Garda

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5 MonTe BalDoThe Italian lines andthe war of the “futurists”

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The many interesting sites of the Great War in Vallagarina have been divided into 6 areas. As part of an enjoyable and varied trip, you can visit them using one of the three available maps and choose either a short walk or a longer hike.

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4 MonTe ZuGnaThe “Trincerone” (large trench) and the Buole Pass

roVereTo, Mori, ala, aVio Places of memory: museums, monuments and trenches

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Valli Del lenoThe fort of Pozzacchio, military paths and trenches

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MonTe PaSuBioThe battlefield

of the 10.000 dead

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TREnTInO AnD VALLAgARInA DURIng THE FIRST WORLD WAR

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Between autumn 1914 and spring 1915, the Austro-Hungarian Army reinforced their defences by building the Tiroler Widerstandlinie (Tyrolean line of resist-ance), a system of trenches and military posts that extended from Tonale to Marmolada.

In Vallagarina, the line began from the fortified area of Riva del Garda and the zures farmstead, climbed along the high southern area of the Gresta valley, descended until the Adige, and passed through Rovereto along the leno stream before going up to Mount Finonchio. From there, running along the ridge, it connected to the defences of the pla-teau of Folgaria.

In early 1915, when the prospect of war with the Kingdom of Italy became in-creasingly likely, many in Trentino with Italian sentiment crossed the border. During the war, about 700 of them en-listed as volunteers in the Italian Army.

Until the end of the First World War, Trentino was part of the Austrian Em-pire. After losing lombardy and Vene-to in 1859, the Vienna government planned their defence of the border with the Kingdom of Italy. Over the follow-ing fifty years, the Trentino fortification plan implemented the construction of about 80 fortresses. At the beginning of 1900, the Austrians designed a de-fensive system for Vallagarina based on five major fortresses: on Mount Pasubio, at Pozzacchio, and on the mountains of zugna, Vignola and Altissimo di Nago. At the outbreak of war in July 1914, the work was interrupted to allow men and equipment to be sent to the Russian and Serbian fronts. The only structure that was built was Fort Pozzacchio (Werk Valmorbia), although it remained un-finished.During the conflict, more than 55,000 Trentino men were called to arms and sent to the Eastern Front in Galicia, a region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which is now divided between Poland and Ukraine. They fought against the Russian Army there. Many were taken prisoner and more than 11,400 died. The war, however, did not involve only the male population but the whole of Tren-tino’s society and territory.

Fort Pozzacchio during the months of the Italian occupation

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When Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary in May 1915, Trentino be-came a battlefield. The first result was the evacuation of the most vulnerable places. More than 100,000 people were moved to the interior regions of Aus-tria and Italy. The inhabitants of Tram-bileno, Terragnolo, part of Vallarsa, Rovereto, Isera, the Valley of Gresta, Mori and Marco were sent into Aus-tria, Bohemia and Moravia. large ar-eas of huts called “wooden towns” were built (Mitterndorf, Braunau, Oberhollabrunn), where hunger, epi-demics and poor sanitation claimed many victims. Some inhabitants of

the Brentonico plateau and Vallarsa, as well as the population of Chizzola, Serravalle and S. Margherita, were ex-pelled by the Italian Army and trans-ferred to different regions of the pen-insula. To the south, in Ala and Avio, and to the north, in Villalagarina, Vol-ano, Pomarolo, Nomi and Besenello, the population had to live with thou-sands of soldiers throughout the war. These places became the commands centres, hospitals and warehouses for the two armies, where trains unloaded men and material for the front lines.

Refugees from Trentino in Braunau

The refugee camp in Mitterndorf

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In the early months of the war, Italian troops easily occupied Avio, Ala, Bal-do, zugna, Vallarsa and Pasubio, from where the Austrians had withdrawn, and advanced to the gates of Rovereto. In December 1915, some units reached the hill of Casteldante and loppio. Both armies built roads, paths, trench-es, machine gun and artillery emplace-ments, huts, depots and cableways. Being short of men, the Austrians mo-bilised many civilians and thousands of Russian and Serb prisoners. Today, there are place names to commemo-rate them (“the Path of the Serbs”).

In May 1916, the Austro-Hungarian Army launched a major offensive (known as Strafexpedition) and reoc-cupied almost all of Pasubio. However, their advance was stopped on Mount zugna at the “Trincerone” and at the Buole Pass. During the operations, three volunteers from Trentino who were enlisted in the Italian Army - Damiano Chiesa, Cesare Battisti and Fabio Filzi - were captured by the Austrians. They were taken to Trento, where they were tried, sentenced to death and executed in Buonconsiglio Castle.

Pasubio. The Dente Italiano (Italian Tooth) seen from the Austrian front lines

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The Italian artillery fired from Baldo and zugna; the Austrians responded from Stivo and Biaena, and from Pasu-bio and Finonchio. Many villages were destroyed. The countryside and woods were devastated. Yet, from autumn 1916 until the end of the war, the two armies’ positions remained largely un-changed. The fighting was especially violent on Pasubio, where uninterrupted warfare

was fought until October 1918. In the area of the Denti (Teeth), the armies resorted to using gas and mines. On zugna, the bloodiest episodes took place in the summers of 1916 and 1918.Thousands of soldiers died from wounds, the cold and avalanches. The high losses led to the construction of several military hospitals. Dozens of cemeteries were built behind the bat-tlefields.

The Italian trench on Mount Zugna

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Three and a half years after the war began in Vallagarina, the journey to-wards peace began. On October 29 1918, in Serravalle all’Adige, an Aus-tro-Hungarian delegation requested a ceasefire. Negotiations were con-cluded at Villa Giusti in Padua, leading to the signing of the armistice on No-vember 3. Italian troops had already entered Rovereto the previous day.From November 1918, refugees and soldiers began to return to the homes they left at the beginning of the war. Mori and its surrounding area; the vil-lages in the valley of Gresta, Rovereto, lizzana, Marco, Serravalle, Terrag-nolo, Trambileno and Vallarsa were all largely uninhabitable. Houses, public

buildings, churches, monuments, aq-ueducts, power lines, bridges, roads, fields and woods all bore the signs of destruction.With the end of the war, the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Peace Treaty of Versailles, Trentino became part of the Kingdom of Italy. The difficult work of reconstruction began: the populations of many places lived in villages of shacks for months; it took years before life returned to normal.Poverty drove many people to emi-grate. Many returned to the battle-fields to “recuperate” materials to sell: the final legacy of the war.

The village of Aste in 1919

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Vallagarina was entered from enemy lines in May 1915. It was here that the Austrians asked for an armistice in October 1918. From 1919 onwards, the resumption of civil and economic life erased most traces of the war. However, some remnants are still visible. Rovereto quickly became a place of memory and a destination for visitors.

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War History Museum 1 has been one of the most important Italian muse-ums dedicated to the First World War. It displays artefacts, documents and memorabilia; it manages exhibitions and research and is actively involved in education. Housed in the castle of Rovereto, it also displays collections of weapons from the modern age. The temporary exhibition is “Dying for Tren-to/Sterben für Trient”.The Bell of Peace 2 , designed by Don Antonio Rossaro, was made in 1924 with the bronze of cannons donated by the nations involved in the war. It was inaugurated on October 4 1925. Every evening the bell rings one hundred times to commemorate the fallen of all wars, making it an international symbol of peace.The remains of thousands of dead sol-diers from the Vallagarina front have been collected on the hill of Casteldante

since the 1920s. In the 1930s, a large memorial shrine 3 was built there, which now houses more than 12,000 fallen Italians (including Fabio Filzi and Damiano Chiesa) and about 8,000 fallen Austro-Hungarians. At the foot of the memorial, sections of a trench built by the Italians in the winter of 1915 can be visited. The road of the artillerymen

4 is lined with memorials commemo-rating soldiers who received gold med-als for military valour. It was recently the subject of a restoration project by the Department for Cultural Heritage. The road leads to the Cave of Damiano Chiesa 5 , in which there is a 149 mm cannon. In this area the young volunteer from Rovereto was captured by the Aus-trians in May 1916.Until 20 September 2015 the Mart 6 is hosting the exhibition “The War That Will Come Is Not the First: the Great War 1914-2014”.

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Some interesting traces can still be found of the Austrian line that ran downwards from Biaena towards the Adige and then upwards to Finonchio. Near the village of Ravazzone (Mori), recovery work by the Schützenkom-panie “Destra Ades” and by the Em-ployment Support and Environmental Development Service has uncovered the Austro-Hungarian entrenched camp of asmara 7 . Continuing to-wards Isera, near the area of Cornalè and near the ruins of Castel Pradaglia

8 , a well-preserved trench overlooks the River Adige. In Isera you can visit Carmelo Nuvoli’s original Postcard Museum 9 ; within the vast collec-tion there are many postcards from the First World War. On the eastern side of Vallagarina, from the village of Noriglio you can easily reach Mount Ghello 10 , a rocky promontory located near the city of Rovereto. You can still see the gun emplacements and trenches which were dug into the rock by the Austri-ans.

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To the south of Rovereto, between Ser-ravalle and Avio, there are significant traces of the Italian Army’s three and a half year occupation of the area. In the village of la Villetta 11 , near Chizzola, evidence remains of the Italian line that came down from Mount Baldo and con-tinued towards zugna. Near Marani 12 , a long covered trench crosses the vine-yards and leads up to the mountain; a restoration work restored the two sites. From Ala, where the Italian commands were situated, a system of roads led to high altitude gun emplacements. One example is the embrasure of Busoni 13 at Sega, on the plateau of lessini. A mil-

itary road leads to the Buole Pass 14 , where units of the Taro and Sicilia bri-gades halted the Austrian offensive on 29 and 30 May 1916. Along state road 12 near Serravalle 15 , a stone marks the spot where Austrian representatives proposed the cessation of fighting to the Italians on October 29 1918. They were taken to Villa Pellegrini Malfatti in avio 16 and Villa Guerrieri Gonzaga in Borghetto 17 . They were then trans-ferred to Villa Giusti in Padua, where the armistice was signed on 3 Novem-ber. The Municipality of Ala is planning the construction of a park dedicated to this event.

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THE VALLEYS OF THE LEnO Between 1915 and 1918, the Trentino municipalities of Pasubio - Vallarsa, Terragnolo and Trambileno - were destroyed and the population was evacuated. When the refugees and soldiers returned, the work of reconstruction was accompanied by the recovery of war metals from the battlefield. Today, you can find several remains of fortifications and trenches by following the old network of paths and military roads.

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In the spring of 1915, the Austrians left the valleys of the leno and deployed to the areas near Rovereto and along Mount Finonchio. The populations of Terragnolo, Trambileno and part of Val-larsa were evacuated. The Italians ad-vanced and occupied Vallarsa, Pasubio and zugna. In May 1916, the Austro-Hungarian offensive pushed them back to almost their original position. The still inhabited villages of Vallarsa were evacuated and the population was moved to Italy. The territory underwent new military preparations, and a long war of position began that lasted until the end of the conflict. During the post-war period, reconstruction was difficult and part of the population had to emi-grate. In today’s more stable times, the dedicated work of associations has led to the recovery of many historical sites.

The valleys of the leno are the access point for Pasubio and Mount zugna. The valley of Terragnolo was primarily the logistical rear for the Austrians, where they built warehouses, huts and com-mands. From here, roads and cableways left for Pasubio. The local municipal government, the ANA and the Employ-ment Support and Environmental De-velopment Service have together recov-ered the Austro-Hungarian cemetery of Geroli 18 , one of many found in the valley and among the largest in Vallaga-rina. The ruins of an Austro-Hungarian headquarters at the Pass of Borcola 19 has undergone restoration work. Clean-ing work was completed on the trench that leads to Fort Dosso delle Somme, with its characteristic Forra del lupo (Wolf’s Gorge) 20 , and the trenches of Val delle Calchere.

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The most interesting site in the mu-nicipality of Trambileno is Fort Pozzac-chio 21 (Valmorbia Werk). last of the Austro-Hungarian fortresses built in Trentino, it is entirely excavated from the rock and was made to control the upper part of Vallarsa. The fort was never completed due to the outbreak of the war. It was the most modern of the forts in Trentino. Inside, emplacements for machine guns, artillery and search-lights were built, in addition to food and ammunition stores, workshops, spaces for an electricity generator, a telephone exchange and dormitories for soldiers and officers. A central shaft gave ac-cess to the top, where rotating domes for the artillery had been planned. The Italian Army occupied it in June 1915,

but in May 1916 the fort was retaken by the Austro-Hungarians. The Italians attempted to win it back after a few weeks, but were repelled. Michele Rig-illo and Carlo Pastorino wrote intense passages about the fort, while Eugenio Montale, a soldier in the Great War, evoked his stay in Valmorbia in a poem from the “Cuttlefish Bones” collection. The municipal government, the Superin-tendency of Architectural Heritage and the “Fort” association have collaborated to acquire and restore the structure. The fort is accessible on foot along the two military roads from the villages of Pozzacchio and Valmorbia. The public opening is scheduled for Sunday May 24 2015, and the official opening will take place on Sunday July 5.

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In Vallarsa, the “Pasubio100anni” As-sociation, the ANA and SAT have col-laborated to reopen numerous his-torical sites and paths that lead to the slopes of zugna and Pasubio from the valley below. In 2014, paths were made that lead to the trench of edelweiss 22 from Foppiano, from Obra to the

mountain of Mezzo and the trenches of Rio Rumini, and from Piano to Parroc-chia. An application for smartphones and tablets to enhance trips to these sites is downloadable from the Associ-ation’s website (www.pasubio100anni.it) or from a PlayStore. The entrenched camp of Matassone 23 was created

by the Austro-Hungarian Army in the autumn of 1914. It consisted of two concrete trench systems, an observa-tion post and a post for optical signals with Fort Pozzacchio, which was on the other side of Vallarsa. After May 1915, it was occupied by the Italians, who built further trenches. In May 1916, the Austro-Hungarian Army conquered the area, but the Italians reoccupied it on June 28 and held it until the end of the conflict. Its location allows for a wide view of Vallarsa, Pasubio, zugna and the Piccole Dolomiti. Further restora-tion work will take place in the area throughout 2015.

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MOUnT PASUBIOThis was one of the most important battlefields of the Italian-Austrian front. Here, the longest war of mines on the European front was fought. At the end of the conflict it was declared a “sacred area” and became a place of pilgrimage, tours and excursions. Today it is still full of tunnels, paths and trenches.

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Approximately 100,000 Austro-Hungar-ian and Italian soldiers lived on Pasubio for more than three years. More than ten thousand died in combat, from disease or were crushed by avalanches. During the war, the soldiers of the two armies built roads, paths, cableways, aqueducts, villages of huts and numerous tunnels. Thanks to the intervention of the Prov-inces of Trento and Vicenza and the work of many volunteers, many of these con-structions have been restored and made visitable. Those same roads and military

paths are now access routes for hikers who can access Pasubio from different sides: from Trambileno and Pian del Che-serle, from the valley of Terragnolo, from the pass of Borcola and from Vallarsa. The Way of Heroes goes up from Pian delle Fugazze; the Scarubbi Road and the spectacular Road of the 52 Tunnels goes up from Bocchetta Campiglia. Rest stops for hikers include the shelters of lancia and Papa and some mountain farmsteads (malga Valli, malga zocchi, malga Bor-cola, malga Bisorte).

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Crossing Pasubio from the shelter of lancia to the shelter of Papa takes you to the first Austro-Hungarian and Ital-ian lines, which are littered with tun-nels, shelters and emplacements. The Corno di Vallarsa, now known as Cor-no Battisti 24 , was one of the most contested peaks. The Italians con-quered it in 1915, lost it in the spring of 1916 and recaptured it in the sum-mer of 1918 following a spectacular manoeuvre. Its name commemorates the irredentist Cesare Battisti, who was captured there with Fabio Filzi in July 1916. Inside, there are winding tunnels and passages, made visitable by the work of the “E. Roner” Caving Group. Further restoration measures

have been proposed by the “Pasubio-100anni” Association. Mount Testo 25 fell into Italian hands in 1915 but

was recaptured in the Austro-Hungar-ian offensive of 1916. Recent resto-ration work by SAT Rovereto and the “E. Roner” Caving Group has opened up the complex of tunnels, trench-es and artillery observation posts, which were prepared to control Val-larsa, zugna and Pasubio. At the foot of Mount Buso 26 , volunteers from SAT Rovereto have recently reopened a long tunnel dug by the Austrians to ensure the movement of troops to the front lines. During the work, fossilised dinosaur footprints were found on the rocky ceiling.

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The top part of roite formed the rear-guard of the Austrian line and is com-pletely covered in trenches. The most advanced point of the line ran along the rocky promontory of the Dente austriaco 27 , which saw the bloodi-est of conflicts in autumn 1916. Op-posite, separated by a pass, stands the Dente italiano, which was the target of mine warfare between 1917 and 1918. Behind the Dente Italiano, long paths and the remains of trenches go down from Cima Palon, which at that time were used by Italian units at the front line. Recent restoration work has focused on the summit trench of the Dente Austriaco, the “Ellison” tunnel, artefacts from the Dente Italiano, Cima

Palon, Cogolo Alto, Selletta Comando 28 , the “Ghersi” path, the mule track

and tunnel of “zamboni”, the Way of Heroes, the remains of a hut in “Mila-nin”, the cemetery of the Brigata lig-uria and the “roman arch” 29 . One of the most spectacular entrances to Pasubio is the road of the 52 Tun-nels 30 , which goes up from Bocchetta Campiglia to the shelter of Papa. Built by the Italian Army between February and November 1917, its 6 kilometres (almost half of them in the tunnel) al-lowed supplies to be taken to combat units. The remains of more than 5,000 Italian soldiers are collected in the Shrine of the Pian delle Fugazze 31 , which was opened in 1926.

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MOUnT ZUgnA Mount Zugna is significant in the history of the great War for the Italian resistance to the Austrian offensive of May 1916. The mountain is also interesting in other respects. On its slopes there is a large area with dinosaur footprints. The Astronomical Observatory of the Rovereto Civic Museum Foundation operates near the shelter of Mount Zugna.

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At the beginning of 1900, the Austrians planned a fort on the summit of zugna: they built the access road, barracks and a drainage basin for the collection of rainwater. When entry into the war seemed likely, the lines were set back to Rovereto. Consequently, in May-June 1915 zugna was occupied by the Ital-ian Army, who built their own trenches, roads, huts, cableways and aqueducts. In Spring 1916, the Austro-Hungarians launched an offensive in the direction of the Veneto region and attempted

to seize Vallarsa. The Italians stopped them on zugna, which makes up one of its sides. In spite of repeated and bloody assaults, the Austro-Hungarians failed to overcome Italian resistance at the Buole Pass and at the “Trincerone”, the barrier created at the narrowest point of the ridge. From that moment until the end of the conflict, the two armies wore each other down in a long war of position. This is testified by the numerous cemeteries and lines of trenches.

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The road from Albaredo climbs to the top of zugna through an area which is unique along the whole front as it con-tains both the Austrian and Italian mil-itary networks. The area was developed as part of a recovery project organised by the Municipality of Rovereto in col-laboration with the War Museum and the Civic Museum Foundation. The project restored the remains of several military structures: artillery emplace-ments, aqueducts, trenches, tunnels and military cemeteries. Detailed signs are placed all along the area’s 11 km hiking route. This winding trail starts at 900 metres, just below Malga Tof. It first takes you to the area behind the Austro-Hungarian front-line, passes through the no man’s land, the Ital-ian lines and rear and then reaches the summit. Along the way, it intertwines with the Path of Peace, where you walk along military communication trenches from the mountain shelter at the curve of the “Tre Aquile” (Three Eagles). The

communication trenches on the Path of Peace were restored as part of the work undertaken by the Employment Support and Environmental Develop-ment Service.The “Path of the Trenches” starts on a bend just above Malga Tof. The path was recovered by the District of Marco following the advice of the War Mu-seum, the Alta Vallagarina Woodland Guard, the Forestry Service and the Social Activities Service of the Munici-pality of Rovereto. Along the trail you will find the redentore Italian mili-tary cemetery 32 (formerly known as S. Costanzo), which was cleaned up by the Memores Association. Back on the road, at the beginning of the path of the “Trincerone”, a mule track leads to Foraora 33 , the site of an important battle in in May 1918. Along the route, the military structures of the Italian “Trincerone” and the Austrian front line area known as “Kopfstellung” 34 have been cleaned up following a project by

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the Cengio Alto Botanical Park Founda-tion with the Municipality of Rovereto, the War Museum and the Civic Mu-seum Foundation (winner of the Build-ing Trentino 2009-2012 architectural project). The project restored the front line and its impressive surroundings. The Italian “Trincerone”, almost erased by bombing, was partially reinstated to demonstrate its original function. Some military cemeteries have been saved following restoration work. Beyond the “Trincerone”, you can visit the remains of the San Matteo cemetery and the grounds of the S. Barbara cemetery. Along the forest road (which corre-sponds with the Path of Peace), you can visit the cemetery of San Giorgio 35 ,

where gravestones are gathered from the area’s once numerous war cemeter-ies.Near the Monte zugna mountain shel-ter, you can see the “Sass dei usei” 36 – a rock pierced by tunnels lead-

ing to loopholes for machine guns. You can visit it today thanks to restoration work. The trail to the summit leads to the “Peace Park” 37 , where there are Austro-Hungarian structures (a basin for collecting rainwater, the ruins of a barracks), but also evidence of the Ital-ian presence: trenches, shelters in the rock, artillery emplacements and the “Coni zugna” military cemetery. From the “Peace Park” a trail leads to the summit (where there are some artillery emplacements, an observation post and other structures), while the Bu-ole Pass 38 can be reached following the “Path of Peace”. Here, the Italians stopped the enemy offensive in May 1916. Along the route, the Municipali-ty of Ala has planned the identification and recovery of various structures and historical sites, including the strong-hold of “loner”. At the Buole Pass, a chapel and some cemeteries com-memorate the fallen. There are also important structures which were used for the provision of supplies on zugna, as well as structures built to fortify the peaks. The Buole Pass is reached by a steep path from Riva di Vallarsa or by a convenient road from Marani di Ala.

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The Austro-Hungarian Army had planned to build two forts on Vignola and Altissimo for the fortified belt of Vallagarina, which was due to stretch from Baldo to Pasubio. Work began in the spring of 1914 but was suspended after a few months because of the need to send men to the Serbian and Rus-sian front lines. The Austro-Hungarian defensive line was moved to the north, to the Valley of Gresta. At the outbreak of the war, the Italian Army was able to

rapidly occupy the Vignola ridge, Poste-mone, San Valentino, Corna Piana and Altissimo; in these places they placed a large quantity of artillery. In 1916, the population of Brentonico was evacuated under the threat of Austrian bombard-ment. Renowned for centuries for the richness and uniqueness of its flora, Mount Baldo became a local Natural Park in 2013. Its variety of habitats, plants and animals combine to make it an area of great interest.

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Numerous Italian military structures remain on the summit of Mount al-tissimo di nago 39 : trenches, roads, the foundations of barracks and artil-lery positions. For a short time at the beginning of the war, the Battalion of Volunteer Cyclists and Motorists oper-ated there, involving some of the most well-known Futurist artists: Marinetti, Boccioni, Sironi, Russolo and Bucci. In the last months of the war, units of Czech and Slovak volunteers distin-guished themselves by fighting along-side the Italians on Doss Alto for the independence of their nation. Near the summit, where you can enjoy a spec-tacular view of lake Garda, is the shel-ter of Damiano Chiesa. It is accessible from either the Italian military road from the Graziani shelter, from San Gi-

acomo on a path that climbs the east ridge, or from Nago along the northern slope of the mountain. On Vignola 40 , traces of the Italian Army mingle with the older constructions of the Hab-sburg Army: there is evidence of the former in the tunnels and anti-aircraft artillery on the summit. The drainage basin for collecting rainwater and the barracks (now in ruins) were built by the Austro-Hungarians. The Corno del-la Paura 41 is reachable by following the Path of Peace in the direction of San Valentino. The sheer road winds its way down into the valley of the Adige and goes through two impressive tun-nels dug by Italian soldiers. Nearby, you can see the foundations of the cable car going up the valley, the ruins of huts and anti-aircraft artillery.

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On the dosso di Talpina 42 , at the foot of Mount Baldo, the Austrians made an entrenched garrison facing south on the eve of the war. Abandoned in 1915, it was then occupied by the Ital-ians. The previously forgotten defence complex has recently undergone re-covery work and can be reached from Tierno (Mori) along a trail through the woods or along a road leading out of the town. The work was overseen by the “One land, Two Fronts” association (www.unterritorioduefronti.com). The group was formed to coordinate the activities, associations and voluntary groups aiming to preserve the remain-ing Great War structures in Mori, Nago-Torbole, Brentonico and Ronzo-Chienis. The project is already largely completed and connects the historic sites of the two sides of the front with a 36 km ring of military roads, trenches and trails. The route was recently recognised as a branch of the Path of Peace. Mount Giovo 43 , near the locality of Castione, is part of the circuit and has been made

visitable thanks to the work of volun-teers from the ANA and SAT groups of Brentonico, with the collaboration of teachers and pupils from the Istituto Fontana di Rovereto. The Employment Support and Environmental Develop-ment Service also worked to make the site safe. There are gun emplacements, observation posts, trenches and shelters overlooking the valley of loppio and the opposing slopes of Nagià. From Giovo, following the foothills of Mount Baldo, the ring continues towards the posi-tions on Doss Morzenti, Doss alto di nago 44 , the Zures shelter and Doss Casina. These sites were recovered by the Alpini of Nago along with the SAT of Riva del Garda, the Carnival Com-mittee, AGESCI Riva del Garda 1, the Nago-Torbole Cultural Group and Bici-nago. On the island of Sant’andrea 45 in lake loppio there are the remains of Italian military constructions, in addi-tion to an archaeological site curated by the Rovereto Civic Museum Founda-tion.

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lOPPIO

NAGO

ARCO

MANzANO

PANNONE

MORI

RONzO-CHIENIS

PASSO S. BARBARA

S. ANDREA

MONTE STIVO

MONTE CREINO

MONTE BIAENA

MONTE FAè

MONTE NAGIA GROM

VAllE S. FElICE

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49 50

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4645 SP 88

SP 3

SS 240

VAL DI gRESTA 6

During the great War, the Austrians used the gresta valley in the same way that the Italians used Mount Baldo: it was the area where their artillery was distributed, from the lower valley up to higher altitudes. In May 1915, the population was evacuated from the area. Today, you can visit many remnants of Austrian field fortifications, thanks to the work of volunteers.

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MONTE FAè

The valley of Gresta consists of three tiers, separated by steep cliffs. The work of generations has covered these with dry stone walls and terraces for cultivat-ing vegetables. In 1914, the Austrians prepared a line of defence on the south-ern slopes of the Gresta valley because they expected it would be necessary to abandon Mount Baldo in the event of a war with Italy. They prepared trenches and emplacements for rifles and artil-lery. Hundreds of soldiers, militarised civilians and Serb prisoners were em-ployed in the construction work. From the valley floor to Mount Stivo roads and paths were made to connect Val-lagarina to the Sarca valley. The valley

of Gresta remained in Austrian hands until the end of the conflict. At the end of the war, the Italian bombing and the Austrian occupation had destroyed eve-rything: the forests were cut down, the fields overgrown, the pastures rendered unusable by the remnants of war, and the roads impassable. Here, as else-where, people went back to work by reclaiming the countryside, rebuilding the villages and clearing the ground of projectiles. Then, the ruins of the fortifi-cations were forgotten. However, in the last decade various associations coordi-nated by “One land, Two Fronts” have restored numerous sites and sections of trenches.

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Mount nagià Grom 46 , near the town of Manzano, was the subject of a long restoration and cleaning project by the Mori section of the ANA. The structures revealed there show the complexity of the settlement. A long, circular trench runs along raised ground. Protected from enemy artillery, there were spa-cious kitchens, a cistern for collecting water, deposits excavated in the rock, the concrete foundations of electricity generators for powering searchlights, telephone systems and demolition ham-mers for digging tunnels. The soldiers lived in huts or shelters dug into the rock; inside there were gun emplace-ments, stations and artillery observation posts. The land is still scarred by craters from the Italian bombardment of the area. Some small monuments com-memorate the fallen soldiers, as well as the civilians who died in the post-war period from recovering war materials.

The site is easily accessible from Man-zano or Valle San Felice. A scenic but more challenging equipped trail goes from Mori Vecchio right to the top of Nagià. The Mori Alpini and SAT, the lo-cal MASCI section, the “Friends of Man-zano” and “We, Oratory” all collaborated towards its recent restoration. The em-placements of the artillery batteries in Pannone 47 can be recognised thanks to the intervention of the “CRS Pannone and Varano”. Mount Faè 48 was itself a stronghold and a connecting hub be-tween Mount Biaena and Vallagarina. The position was defended by systems of trenches, mostly in the rock. Important examples of these have been retrieved through the work of the “Castel Fras-sem” association. Along the way you can see the remains of artillery guns and howitzers in a cave, placed for fir-ing on zugna, Mount Altissimo and the valley below.

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On Mount Biaena there are many traces of the Austro-Hungarian presence. In the locality of Poia 49 , above the vil-lage of Ronzo-Chienis, a long trench climbs the slopes of Biaena through the woods. The trench was recently cleared by the Gresta Valley SAT and the Ronzo Hunters’ Association. Near the cabin on Monte Biaena, a large reservoir for col-lecting rainwater remains. On the rocky cliffs that plunge into Vallagarina you can see the embrasures in three tun-nels. Trenches equipped with armoured shelters run along the summit, which were connected to huts built on the opposite side during the war. Near the Pass of Santa Barbara 50 , where there was a military village during the war, a chapel can be seen with the unusual shape of a giant grenade, which was built in December 1915 by the Austro-Hungarians. Going up Mount Stivo 51 , you can find gun emplacements as high

as 2,000 metres. lower down, across fields of vegetables, you can reach the top of Creino 52 . The artillery obser-vation point set up there is still visit-able today. From Creino, the view looks upon Mount Pasubio, zugna, the Carega range, lessini, Mount Baldo, lake Garda, Rocchetta, Cadria, Adamello, Presanella and the Brenta range. The trail takes you into a long trench, along which artillery emplacements are still visible in their caves, recently restored by the Gresta Valley SAT and the Nature Conservation Service. From here, the Austrian lines went down towards Nago and lake Garda. The Arco Schützenkompanie, the Nago Castagneto Association, the Na-ture Conservation Service and the Su-perintendence for Architectural Herit-age have restored, cleaned up and made it possible to visit the Austro-Hungarian military structures of Preda Busa, Per-lone 53 and Busa dei Capitani.

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TRIPS

On THE PATHS OF HISTORY2 DAYS / 1 nIgHT OFFERPlateau of Brentonico, Rovereto, Val di gresta, VallarsaHOSTEl AND HOTEl FROM € 107,00

1 night with half-board, half-day ex-cursion with a local guide on the routes of the Great War, visit to the Military Memorial of Castel Dante, entrance to the Peace Bell, guided tour of the Ital-ian War History Museum and the Castle of Rovereto, 2 lunches in a typical res-taurant of the area, 1 guided tour of a Vallagarina winery, information kit. Free for the driver.

DISCOVERIng FORT POZZACCHIODAY VISIT OFFER€ 38,50 (minimum group of 25)

Half-day excursion with a local guide to Fort Pozzacchio in Trambileno, tradi-tional lunch in a restaurant, entrance to the Italian War History Museum and the Castle of Rovereto. Free for the driver.

FIRST WORLD WAR CEnTEnARYTrip to Rovereto on the paths of historyHOSTEl, B&B AND FARM STAY FROM € 59,00HOTEl FROM € 74,00

2 nights bed and breakfast, visit to the Peace Bell and the Italian War History Museum of Rovereto, aperitif in a wine cellar with local wine tasting, hiking route map.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR CEnTEnARY WITH THE ARTSAt Mart Rovereto an exhibition on the fusion between different languagesHOSTEl, B&B AND FARM STAY FROM € 84,00HOTEl FROM € 110,00

2 nights bed and breakfast, visit to Mart’s “The War That Will Come Is Not the First: The Great War 1914-2014” ex-hibition, visit to the Peace Bell, typical dinner in a Vallagarina restaurant. Infor-mation kit for Rovereto and Vallagarina.

Explore Trentino with a Guest Card, the tourist card for discovering museums, castles and parks with free use of public transport throughout the province (of-fered by facilities participating in the initiative).

For GrouPS inDiViDualS

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inFo anD BooKinGAPT Rovereto e VallagarinaTel 0464 430363info@visitrovereto.itwww.visitrovereto.itRovereto

ROVERETO In TWO DAYSEducational trip through art, history and scienceEducational trip in Rovereto through art, history and science. Itineraries and guided tours of the area and educa-tional workshops in the museums and castles of Trentino.

1 nightHOSTEl FROM € 57,00HOTEl FROM € 62,00

2 nightsHOSTEl FROM € 106,00HOTEl FROM € 115,00

THE CEnTEnARY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR Mountains full of history: from trenches to forts and museumsSchool trip on the places affected by the First World War in Trentino, with an easy guided hike in the mountains of Rove-reto and educational workshops at the War Museum and Rovereto Peace Bell.

1 nightHOSTEl FROM € 63,00HOTEl FROM € 68,00

2 nightsHOSTEl FROM € 117,00HOTEl FROM € 125,00

notesPrice includes educational activities, ac-commodation and meals. Price indicated per pupil. Free for accompanying teach-ers. Price based on 45 paying students, 4 teachers and 1 free driver. For those arriving in the city by train, transfers are locally organised by our company.The price may be subject to change for educational trips in 2015/2016.

For SCHoolS

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THE WAR THAT WILL COME IS nOT THE FIRSTTHE FIRST WORLD WAR 1914-20144 October 2014 - 20 September 2015Mart - Museum of Modern and Contem-porary Art of Trento and RoveretoCorso Bettini 43, Rovereto

In this exhibition dedicated to one of the most dramatic and significant events of the modern age, contemporary arts come into contact with the subject of everyday life; masterpieces of the avant-garde with the cries of propaganda. Documents, reports and the evidence of everyday routine find new life in the exhibition. The works of art attempt to widen the narrow scope through which we normally interpret the facts of our history. What emerges is an attempt to accommodate and give life to the subject, so that the Great War is not the commemoration of a ghost but a topic with which to contend.

www.mart.trento.it

EVEnTS 2015

DYIng FOR TREnTO/STERBEn FÜR TRIEnTItalian and austro-hungarian soldiers of the trentino front in the first world war22 March 2015 – 31 January 2016Italian War History MuseumCastle of RoveretoVia Castelbarco 7, Rovereto

On the centenary of the outbreak of the conflict between Italy and Austria, the War Museum is dedicating an exhibition to the events and places of the war on the Trentino front. A story told through artefacts, pictures and films about the war in the mountains and the different ideas of the soldiers in the two armies. The voices of those who fought in that war find their place alongside those of the people keeping their memory alive.

www.museodellaguerra.it

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FORTE POZZACCHIO OPEnIng DAY24 May 2015 opening for the public5 July 2015 official opening ceremony

The most modern of Trentino’s fortifications will be reopened after a major restoration project. Entirely excavated in the rock, the fort was designed to control Vallarsa. It still contains emplacements for machine-guns, artillery and searchlights, in addition to the rooms that once served as warehouses, workshops and dormitories. A scenic walkway now runs along the roof, which once held rotating domes.

www.fortepozzacchio.it www.visitrovereto.it

PELLEgRInOFOR PEACE29 June – 20 July 2014Peace Bell FoundationColle di Miravalle, Rovereto

A “civil pilgrimage” that will follow the Path of Peace from the Tonale Pass to the Peace Bell. A variety of the area’s associations, from ANA to SAT, the Pro loco and the Scouts will all play their part to enliven the way. An initiative to share thoughts on the lives that were lost at the front and to participate in an enlightening walk with the theme of peace.

www.fondazioneoperacampana.it

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Comunità dellaVallagarina

www.trentinograndeguerra.it

for information

www.museodellaguerra.it www.visitrovereto.it