On the paths of the Fortress of Trento - Trekking routes to discover the places and fortifications of the First World War.
During the nineteenth century, the city of Trento was transformed into a large stronghold, surrounded by a belt of forts. The territory was divided into sectors: from 1914 the defensive system was divided into seven sectors. A further fortified line included the immediate surroundings of the city centre. Other more external field defense lines protected the Fortress, including the barrier of Tenna, in Valsugana, with the Colle delle Benne or San Biagio fort and the fort of Tenna. At the outbreak of the war, the nineteenth-century fortifications were outdated and inadequate to face a possible attack: some were then disarmed and replaced by field posts located nearby, others were demolished. Between 1914 and 1916 an imposing entrenched camp with a very high degree of resistance, consisting of trenches, cave batteries and concrete casemates, enclosed the city: it was a huge economic and organizational effort that saw thousands of militarized workers and prisoners of war employed. No war operations affected the city of Trento during the conflict and as early as 1916 the fortification works were interrupted and most of the armaments transferred to the front. This vast defensive system has been mostly destroyed: many works have been dismantled by the recoverers, others have been submerged by vegetation or damaged by the passage of time; but a part is still visible, testifying to what was a great fortress at the time.
SECTORS OF THE FORTRESS
In German and on the historical map the sectors were indicated with the word "Bezirk"
- Sector I - From Mattarello to Valsorda
- Sector II - From Valsorda to the top of Marzola
- Sector III - From Marzola to Monte Celva
- Sector IV - Mount Calisio
- Sector V - The Sorasass and the Vela barrier
- Sector VI - Monte Bondone
- Sector VII - From Monte Bondone to the Adige Valley
- Internal line - The city centre
TRENTINO AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR
World War I broke out on 28 July 1914 with the Austro-Hungarian Empire's declaration of war on Serbia. A few days later, on 31 July, Austria-Hungary called up men aged 21 to 42; during the war the age range widened to include men aged 18 to 50. From Trentino, then part of the province of Tyrol, about 55,000 men left to fight in the imperial uniform. With the entry of Italy into the war, from 24 May 1915, the Trentino territory, gradually fortified from the mid-nineteenth century, was the scene of military operations. The civilian population of southern Trentino and the cities of Rovereto and Trento was evacuated. Almost 110,000 Trentinos forcibly abandoned their homes: 75,000 of them reached upper and lower Austria, Bohemia and Moravia, distributed in civilian homes or in special refugee camps; another 35,000 were taken to Italy during the conflict. 700 Trentinos chose to fight with the uniform of the kingdom of Italy. Three of them, Cesare Battisti, Fabio Filzi and Damiano Chiesa, captured during the conflict, were executed for high treason in the castle of Buonconsiglio in Trento. The Italians entered Trento on 3 November 1918; the following day the armistice was signed, opening a new page in Trentino's history.
Details
Download the guide to the trails of the Fortress of Trento.
Booklet and guide can be purchased at our info office in Trento, in Piazza Dante 24.
