Monte Baldo trenches and fortress hiking at Lake Garda Italy
The horrible slope to the East of Monte Cornale between Lake Garda and Adige valley
Cornale observatory was the fortress anti-aircraft defense in the WW1
In the year 2016 we learned of a rather strange history concerning our areas and in particular the fortifications of the First World War (1915-1918) on the Cresta del Monte Cornale' which was guarded by the soldiers of the Italian army. The first line passed from Lake Garda and Loppio Valley, from Marco up to the Pasubio plateau famous for the bloody battles that caused about ten thousands of dead. The valley of Gresta up to Rovereto were in the hands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire while the whole plateau of Brentonico was occupied by the Italian troops who received supplies in the city of Ala by rail. From the deposits in the valley, the ammunition and food was transported by cableway up to the farm of Piazzina and preserved in a long tunnel carved into the rock. In the night, long herds of mules carrying the materials up to the ridge of Monte Baldo to the cannon posts located on the highest mountain and also to the fortifications on Monte Cornale' up to the first line below the village of Castione. The generals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire decided to cut off this line of supplies by air raids on the city of Ala. The planes departed at night from Innsbruck airport and dropped their bombs on the railroad and onto the depots passing right in front of the Cornale' crest. The strategists of the Italian army immediately understood the importance of this threat and built a very particular fortress dug into the rock on Monte Cornale which was probably the first attempt of aerial defence. The stories of those who had visited the place long ago, talked about a spiral staircase that descended from the trenches into the depths of the rock up to three separate rooms. A powerful searchlight was installed in the central tunnel, mounted on a railway carriage and powered by a generator set on the outside. A large machine-gun was installed in the left-hand side chamber while the right-hand room served as an ammunition storage and shelter for soldiers. At the arrival of the planes the searchlight was pushed on the rails towards the outside of the main tunnel and illuminated the bombers and the soldiers fired; during the day it was pulled inwards to protect it from bombing.
Old postcard of the guiding light in the fortress Cornale'
The photocopy of a postcard of 1917 depicting the searchlight on rail convinced us that the story was not a fairytale and promptly pushed us to search the fortress following the indications of the first discoverers. In the first year we controlled every meter of the crest of the Cornale' entering the numerous tunnels and trenches and making even rope rappel but it was useless. Subsequently and thanks to a more in-depth study of the military strategy of that time and taking advantage of the help of some willing inhabitants of the village of Corne', the fortress was finally found and even cleaned up from rocks and vegetation.Our trekking proposal for the visit of the trenches and the Cornale' fortress
Map of the fortress on Monte Baldo
The Mountain Guides organization alpinguide Arco offers various activities and courses at Lake Garda
BRENTA TREK 4 days hiking in the Dolomites Alps . VIA FERRATA COURSES in the Brenta Dolomites . BOCCHETTE DEL BRENTA hut-to-hut on the via ferratas . CANYONING LAKE GARDA the best excursions in Trentino . OUTDOOR INCENTIVES TEAMBUILDING at Lake Garda in Italy
Our links to Monte Baldo territory
Canyoning-trek wandern trekking in die Schluchten des Gardasees . Canyoning - trek hiking in the canyons at Lake Garda Italy . Canyoning trekking torrente Sorna nelle forre del Garda Trentino . Map of Canyoning trek at Lake Garda Trentino in Italy . Images of Canyoning trek at Lake Garda Trentino in Italy . Images of Monte Baldo fortress ww.1 at Lake Garda Trentino in Italy . Trekking of Monte Baldo hiking in the canyon Sorna West . Trekking on Monte Baldo hiking in the canyon Sorna central . Trekking on Monte Baldo hiking in the canyon Sorna East Trekking dei 5 ponti nel torrente Sorna Trentino . Hiking trekking on Monte Baldo 5 bridges roundtrip . Trekking der 5 Bruecken im Bach Sorna