Driving towards Treviso Bresciano you will come across this old fortress. Follow the directions ‘Forte di Valledrane’, park your car or bicycle at the old church and you will walk into a piece of history. Don’t let the levers stop you, you can walk around it and after 15 minutes you will arrive at this open space with a great view.
At an altitude of 831 meters, the Fort of Valledrane i belongs to the Giudicarie barrier. The objectives varied from the entire extension of Lake Idro to the heights between Capovalle and Valvestino, where the Italian-Austrian border and the front line of the Giudicarie front ran. His guns intervened several times in the first days of the war, as this did not work out, the fort was disarmed. After the conflict it was definitively put on hold by the army. The vegetation has recently been cleared and you can visit it (very carefully) both indoors and outdoors.
In the course of history it has unfortunately been looted from every “removable” part. The fortress is one of the largest of its kind in Italy. It mainly develops in length, follows the morphology of the terrain with its contour lines and thus forms several steps (similar to the Austrian work of Verle). The domes are therefore not on the same level, but in groups of two out of three terraces with staggered floors. Although it did not suffer any damage from the war, it does show some damage, mainly due to the work of the recovery companies. Almost all access stairs to the upper floor and part of the same floor are missing. Along the perimeter there are two more kaponniere (a third has been broken off) with a moat around it. The fort was also equipped with an observatory dome on the same level as the two tallest domes.
Tip: Put on good walking shoes.
