Sommità Pasubio

Destination of a ceaseless pilgrimage through the battlefields of World War I the Sommità del Pasubio contains a few destinations most visited today by the descendants of those who fought there a century ago. Along the Denti Italiano ed Austroungarico (crests in the mountains in Italian and Austro-Hungarian territories) ruinous effects of the mine war are still evident. That March 13, 1918 is cited in history books, when the Austrians lit up 50,000 kg of TNT at the foot of the Dente Italiano. The giant explosion turned the mountain’s topography upside-down.

There are two extensive paths that descend from Cima Palon and Selletta Comando which joined the areas behind the front. The monumental Arco Romano marks the far limit against which the Kaiser troops pushed. The Sentiero della Pace (The Path of Peace) and European Path E5 which runs from Lago di Costanza to Venice intersect along the sacred area of the Pasubio.

The easiest way to climb to the heart of the Pasubio, preferred by excursionists and bikers, is the “Strada degli Eroi (Road of the Heroes)”: 10 kilometers of gravel road, full of twists and turns, but from the steady incline that, from Passo Pian delle Fugazze (1,162 mt.), leads to Refugio Papa (1,929 mt.), passing through the D’Havet tunnel. This owes its name to the plaques on the rocky walls in honor of the 15 soldiers who were awarded the gold medal of military honor.

The Sommità del Pasubio is a powerful symbol of the trench warfare that went on in the heart of the Pre-alps in Trentino.