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Forte Montecchio Nord
Forte Montecchio Nord
Forte Montecchio Nord is the best-preserved First World War fortress in all of Europe. It was built just before the beginning of the Great War, and was part of the Northern Frontier defensive system, towards Switzerland. This strategic position on the Piani di Spagna allowed for simultaneous control of all the main access points to Italian territory, where in the early 1900s the main roads and railways passed: in fact, the Val Chiavenna was and still is the most direct route connecting the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. The front never reached Colico, but this Fort still helps us to understand the kind of life the soldiers led at the time.
Visiting the fort, we can take a step back in time of more than 100 years, and see how the soldiers at the front lived daily. Passing through a 120-meter-long tunnel, you go through what was an ammunition depot, to reach the main attraction of this fortress: the four turrets equipped with cannons, still perfectly preserved and functioning. These turrets can rotate 360 degrees and fire shells weighing 52 kg for a range of over 13,000 meters.
During the Second World War, Forte Montecchio was used only as a training base; its only use that can be considered part of war history was on April 26, 1945, when the Fort was occupied by the National Liberation Committee, and the German soldiers inside were arrested. The next day, five shots were fired from the Fort's cannons with the intention of stopping the German convoy that had escorted Mussolini towards Switzerland; even though the shots missed, the German general still arrived in Colico to sign a negotiation with the Colico National Liberation Committee.
Forte Montecchio Nord is the best-preserved First World War fortress in all of Europe. It was built just before the beginning of the War, and was part of the Northern Frontier defensive system to Switzerland. This strategic position on Piani di Spagna allowed to simultaneously control all the main access points to the Italian territory, where in the early 1900s the main roads and railways passed: Val Chiavenna in fact was and still is the most direct route that conncets Mediterranean to Northern Europe. The military front never arrived to Colico, but this fort still helps us to understand the kind of life that the soldiers played during that time.
Visiting this fort we can take a step back in time of more than 100 years and see how the soldiers life at the front was. Crossing a 120 meter long tunnel, you pass through an ammunition depot, and finally arrive at the main attraction of this fortress: the four turrets equipped with cannons that are still perfectly preserved and functioning. These turrets can rotate at 360 degrees and launch ammunition weighing 52 kg for a range of over 13,000 meters.
During the Second World War Fote Montecchio was used only as a training base, its only use that we can consider part of the war history was April 26, 1945, when the fort was occupied by the National Liberation Committee, and the German soldiers inside it were arrested. The day after, five shots were fired from the fort's cannons with the intention of stopping the German convoy that had escorted Mussolini towards Switzerland; even if the shots did not go to sign the German general arrived in Colico anyway to sign a negotiation with the Colico National Liberation Committee.
Info: https://www.fortemontecchionord.it/
Forte Montecchio Nord
Via alle Torri 8, 23823 Colico (LC)
Tel. +39 0341 940322
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Larihome by Casartelli Francesco
Privacy - Cookie policy