Italian - Austrian front

[Marilyne]

good afternoon, all,

The road from the IML in Arenzano, Italy to Seefeld, Austria, goes over the 14-18 italian front line and I am planning to spend a few days over there, visiting.

Unfortunately, this part of the WWI front is completely unknown to me, and I'm in serious need of documentation before starting, and also accommodation opportunities...

can anybosy help me?

any suggestions on reading material and places that are definitely MUST SEE are welcome.

MM.

[Gareth Davies]

This is the only guide book I know of:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0850528763?pc_redir=1400090559&robot_redir=1

[roel22]

Not really "in danger", is it?

Roel

[keithjk]

Not really "in danger", is it?

Roel

That rather depends on Marilyne's driving.

Keith

[Terry_Reeves]

Maryline

Try The White War- Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1918 , by Mark Thompson. It won't tell you about accommodation, but it is a very well researched book about Italian army in WW1.

TR

[roel22]

That rather depends on Marilyne's driving.

Keith

[Marilyne]

Not really "in danger", is it?

Roel

That rather depends on Marilyne's driving.

Keith

oops... I'm so sorry... I navigated around the pages and I completely missed the right spot to put this post... thought I was in the visiting part... Can the moderators move this topic?? Or how can I do it myself????

Keith... I can assure you I drive better than I surf the net!!!

[nigelcave]

Maryline

Try The White War- Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1918 , by Mark Thompson. It won't tell you about accommodation, but it is a very well researched book about Italian army in WW1.

TR

But DON"T depend on the maps! The Italians produce a fair amount of literature on the Great War (at least from what I have seen in Rovereto, where there is a very sizeable military museum, to a large extent Great War oriented, in the large castle there and which boasts a small but very useful bookshop). On the other hand, being able to read Italian would be a significant requirement to make any use of them.

[tim_oz]

Marlyne

I would certainly recommend the White War in the Adamello as your starting point as it’s a good history to an often overlooked part of the war. Unfortunately there are a lack of guide books in English to sites away for the Asiago Plateau and the Piave region.

As to what to see it depends on the route you choose. As a guide the front runs roughly south from the Stelvio Pass at the Swiss Italian Border which has a small museum and some Austro Hungarian remains close by as well as an Italian Ossuary on the road up from Molina to the west. Down through the Tonale Pass where there is a rather impressive Ossuary and the remains of Austro Hungarian forts on the eastern side. There is also a small museum Temiu. South of here the front ran along the mountain crests of the Adamello and while there are apparently lots of remains to be seen they require some degree mountaineering ability to get to. From there the front ran down to just north of Riva del Garda, not a great deal of remains that are easily accessible here apart from some Austro-Hungarian forts at Lardaro (one is now a museum) and around Riva del Garda. The front then turned east and ran south of Rovereto and across the Asiago plateau to Monte Grappa. This is most probably the largest concentration of remains/museums/cemeteries on the Tyrol front and as the British fought here there is the guide book Gareth linked to. The front then turned north and ran up slightly west of Cortina d’Ampesso in the Falzarego Pass where there are a lot of remains most situated on mountain tops but easily accessed by cable car in summer. There is also a museum at the Austro-Hungarian Fort Tre Sassi. The front then ran up over Monte Piana, lots of remains but a considerable walk to access them, before turning east along the current Austrian-Italian Border to the Plöckenpass.

A couple of sites you may find useful are:

An Unfortunate Region

http://aur.home.xs4all.nl/layout/frames.htm?Battlefields/Battlefields.htm

Has a good travel guide to this area (scroll down) as well as some descriptions of the fighting here.

The best web sites are unfortunately in Italian but if you the translate function in Google Chrome you can work through them the one I would recommend is:

Trentino Grande Guerra

http://www.trentinograndeguerra.it/default.jsp

Has a large list of sites and Museums and translates well into English.

As Nigel said the Italians have produced a lot of material on the war and most museums have a selection of books and maps unfortunately all in Italian.

The area is certainly worth a visit as its one of the most beautiful areas of Italy.

Tim B

[mandy hall]

Hello Marilyn

I spent a week in Temu (mentioned by Tim above) last September and visited a few Great War sites. The museum at the top of the Stelvio pass is in the Bank and the Stelvio is also a magnet for car enthusiasts. The museum in Temu is really good with some excellent artefacts. However I think out of season they only open on a Sunday afternoon.

I used this site quite a lot, it is available in English.

http://www.sulletraccedellagrandeguerra.it/en/index.html

I also used a slightly different version of this PDF doc, but it is in English go to the end of it for list of museums in the area and map.

http://www.trentinospa.info/documenti/brochure/2011/20101206%20dallaguerraallapace%20INGLESE.pdf

I also agree with Tim it is a stunning area of Italy.

You may have given me a shove to putting my photos on the forum.

Mandy

[roel22]

Thanks mandy, it's on my to do-list for the summer holiday! (assuming mrs. and daughters will agree...)

Roel