Themed thread
The Tonale forts
The Austro-Hungarian barrier that closed the road to the pass.
Before the First World War the Austro-Hungarian empire fortified the border, and Val di Sole still bears the marks. Forte Mero was built between 1911 and 1913 in concrete and iron girders to block the road climbing to the pass, and Italian artillery brought it down in 1916: what was left became a field hospital. Forte Presanella, known as the Pozzi Alti fort, stands at 1,880 metres. Forte Velon ended its career as the telephone exchange for the other forts. Further south, at the Rocchetta narrows, another fortress pointed eleven cannons towards Val di Non and the Piana Rotaliana.
8 places where you meet it
- Castel ValerVal di NonIt stands at 594 metres on a hill above Tassullo, in the municipality of Ville d'Anaunia, with a moat to the north and, to the south, the drop into the gorge of the rio Paglia, which over the centuries has several times eroded the slope.
- Castello di San MicheleVal di SoleIt stands above Ossana, on a spur of rock that is otherwise inaccessible, with the entrance on the east side, and it watched over the road of the Passo del Tonale: the route by which merchants and caravans climbed towards the Trentino and the Tyrol from the valleys of Brescia and Bergamo and from Lake Garda.
- Chiesa di San Bartolomeo vecchiaVal di SoleThe church and the hospice were built in the first half of the twelfth century, in 1127, and had a specific purpose: to offer hospitality to those travelling along the important route that crosses the Tonale pass.
- Chiesa di Santo StefanoVal di SoleThe church of Fraviano is first mentioned as early as the beginning of the thirteenth century, but for news of major works we have to wait four centuries: the documents say that it was rebuilt in 1638, with significant changes, including the stucco ornaments of the left side chapel.
- Forte MeroVal di SoleIt stands at 1,838 metres on the northern side of the Val di Sole, above the Tonale road, between forte Saccarana and forte Presanella.
- Forte PresanellaVal di SoleThe Italians called it the Pozzi Alti fort. It stands at 1,880 metres on the right side of the valley, above Velon di Vermiglio, about eight kilometres by road from the hamlet. It was part of the Tonale barrier, together with the Tonale, Mero and Strino forts: they were meant to close the road that runs down from the pass through the Val di Vermiglio and the Val di Sole towards the Adige, that is, behind the fortress of Trento.
- Forte VelonVal di SoleBuilt between 1898 and 1900, in concrete faced with blocks of local granite, it was a supporting work for forte Strino, which stands above it: the Austrians called it the work for the close defence of the Strino.
- Sbarramento RocchettaVal di NonAt the Rocchetta narrows, where the Val di Non closes towards the plain, Austria built a road barrier between 1860 and 1864, just after losing Lombardy in the Second War of Independence.
The links between these places come from our entries, where every fact has been checked against the sources. The entries are written one at a time: this thread will grow with them.