| Lavarone | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Trentino Alto Adige | |
| Territory | Trentino | |
| Altitude | 1,174 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 26.32 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 1.138 (2015) | |
| Name inhabitants | Lavaronesi | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0464 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 38046 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
| Patron | San Floriano (May 4) | |
Position
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| Institutional website | ||
Lavarone is a scattered municipality of the Trentino Alto Adige.
To know
It is the capital of the Magnificent Community of the Cimbri Highlands.
Geographical notes
On the border between Trentino and the area Vicenza of the Veneto, is part of theUpper Valsugana.
Background
The first evidence of the anthropization of the area consists of ancient smelting furnaces and some ancient slag deposits near the locality of Millegrobbe. There are hypotheses dating back to the nineteenth century, not confirmed by systematic excavations, regarding the existence of a prehistoric castle on the relief of the Church.The first documentary evidence of Lavarone dates back to 1184: a papal document with which Pope Lucio III places under his own protection of temporal goods owned by the bishop of Feltre, to whose diocese it belonged until 1786.Between the 12th and 13th centuries, the first Bavarian settlers arrived from the Vicentine Pre-Alps, called by the nobles and the Trentino bishops not only to live and plow the lands in this marginal part of the Trentino principality, but also to defend and control the territory. Going south between the 10th and 11th centuries, they gave life to the linguistic islands of the thirteen municipalities of Lessinia and the seven municipalities of Vicenza. time the use of the mother tongue also following the influence of the clergy and the continuous economic, social and human contacts with the neighboring Italian areas. The toponyms of numerous localities testify to the German dialect that was spoken here too, as still today in the nearby town of Luserna, where some men from Lavarone settled in 1454 as level-holders of the Brancafora church.
After the Congress of Vienna, the Trentino it was annexed to the Habsburg Empire as an integral part of the southern province of Tyrol and Lavarone remained in the hands of the Trapp accounts, and was then absorbed by the District Judgment of Levico belonging to the District Captaincy of Borgo ValsuganaThe border position and the possibility of a war, meant that the territory was transformed by the Austrian military genius into a stronghold surrounded by numerous fortresses (Forte Belvedere Gschwent, Forte Campo Luserna, Forte Verle, Forte Vezzena) communicating with the nearby fortifications of Folgaria (Forte Dosso del Sommo, Forte Sommo Alto, Forte Cherle). In addition, a military observatory was built on Mount Rust and a camouflaged command near the nearby town of Virti.
From a historical point of view, the most important testimony currently present in the area is Forte Belvedere Gschwent, a perfectly preserved Austro-Hungarian fortress and today used as a museum of the First World War. first line of the front and the population was concentrated in the localities of Gionghi, Bertoldi and Slaghenaufi. On May 31, 1915 the village was ordered to evacuate. The refugees were first brought to the village of Altschwendt, then to the camp of Braunau am Inn, in Upper Austria and returned only after the end of the conflict, on December 17, 1918, which saw the territory annexed to the kingdom of Italy. it heavily damaged the villages and ancient farms of the plateau and caused 188 deaths in Lavarone alone.
How to orient yourself
Lavarone: full screen map.Neighborhoods
Of the 19 hamlets that make up the municipality, the main centers are Bertoldi (the ski area), Cappella, Chiesa, Gionghi (municipal seat) and Piccoli.
How to get
How to get around
What see
- 1 Lavarone lake. The small lake is located on the plateau of the same name at 1,079 meters above sea level. It has an area of 64,000 m² with a maximum depth of 17 meters. It is one of the oldest lakes in the Alps; its bottom, in fact, is placed on a flat sinkhole, waterproofed, due to a sinking dating back to 210 BC.
- The feeding of the lake is guaranteed by small surface springs, the waters flow out by underground infiltrations taking about an hour and a half to go up 3 km away, in the Centa valley, where they form the Vallempach waterfalls.
- Due to its mild climate and the particular purity of its waters, Lake Lavarone constitutes an important tourist attraction for the plateau area: it is in fact equipped for bathing and fishing during the summer and for ice skating. during part of the winter period. In addition, during the winter it is home to an internship for learning the rescue technique under the ice which has been held since 1985 organized by the National Association of Underwater Instructors (ANIS).
- According to a legend, where the lake now stands, there was a luxuriant forest owned by two brothers. These would have argued violently for the ownership of the forest itself. God, to punish them, made the wood sink and filled the slope with water in order to eliminate the object of the brotherly quarrel.
- Bertoldi ski area (Lavarone ski).
Fort Belvedere-Gschwendt
- Fort Belvedere Gschwent (Werk Gschwent). The Austro-Hungarian fortress of Lavarone, better known as Forte Belvedere Gschwent, rises at an altitude of 1,177 meters south of the Oseli district on a rocky spur that goes towards the Valdastico and the Rio Torto valley, dominating the heads. The fort belongs to the large Austrian fortification system on the Italian border.
- Unlike most of the fortresses of the period (first decade of the twentieth century), still built according to traditional models and schemes, in the construction of Forte Belvedere the designer Rudolf Schneider adopted new and in some respects experimental solutions. We immediately notice how the fort is no longer conceived as a construction in which everything is gathered in a single architectural complex, but as an articulated work that consists of several forts for close combat, far from each other, in the midst of which was placed the battery block for ranged combat. : Behind this there is the body of the casemates with the housing of the troops (about 220 soldiers) and the services; all connected by means of corridors and can (galleries) in limestone. The main body of the fort was arranged on three levels and is the largest of the forts built by the Austro-Hungarian military genius in Trentino. It appeared to be a hinge between the forts around: Vezzena (Forte Campo di Luserna, Forte Verle and Forte Vezzena) and Folgaria (Forte Cherle, Forte Sommo Alto and Forte Dosso del Sommo). The entire fort has a development of about 200 meters in length and 100 meters in width.
- The steep cliffs of rock on three sides on the Valdastico gave Forte Belvedere a natural safety against the assaults of the enemy infantry; furthermore, a deep ditch had been dug along the front line and planted a double band of fences (all beatable with machine guns) and fences from 6 to 12 meters wide, always beatable with grazing and cross-fired machine guns, were also present in the flanks and on the throat terrain. Forte Belvedere could therefore be said to be practically impregnable in the full sense of the term.
- Concluded on May 18, 1912, Forte Belvedere was built and tested to withstand even the heaviest bombings and represents a modern and rational work where concrete and iron have been skilfully blended with the rock. It consisted of a casemate block with inside accommodation for the garrison, services and food and ammunition depots, a battery block in an advanced position connected to the first through two tunnels and finally a third block, consisting of three machine gun positions reachable from corridors underground dug into the mountain. The casemate block is arranged on 3 floors and covered with chiseled limestone, partly carved into the rock and characterized by the polygonal protrusion of the facade. The roof of the casemate block is protected from water with a layer of tar and zinc sheets, while the humidity of the structure partially excavated in the rock was limited by gutters, pipes and drainage channels. The fort, connected to the Mount Rust observatory, is equipped with 3 10 cm howitzers in revolving steel domes, two observatories and about twenty machine guns for the nearby defense. Two casemate reflectors were used for night surveillance.
- For communication with the outside, the fort was connected with a telephone switchboard with the Monterovere artillery group command and with the Lavarone-Chiesa telephone station. On the second floor of the hood of the gorge there is an optical station for the connections with the fort of Luserna, through the outpost Oberwiesen, the fort Cherle and the observatory of Mount Rust.
- Forte Belvedere, like all the more modern Austrian fortifications, was a complex destined to be completely autonomous, even in the event of a prolonged siege. It had therefore been equipped with all the equipment and logistical services that would make it self-sufficient for a period of one hundred days, even if the repeated bombardments had prevented a regular supply of food and ammunition. : It was connected to two cisterns powered by a source located not far away and for electricity it was ensured by a generator with motor and batteries.
- In particular:
- the fort n. 2 is the one that from the battery of howitzers, taking the long tunnel to the right, leads to the front ditch and then to the counter-shoe, created specifically for the defense of the front ditch. This structure consisted of two floors: on the ground floor the counter-shoe hood with 4 machine guns behind 2 bombproof armored shields and two machine guns mod. 07 8 mm (MGSch. 13 and 14), a troop room (with a 21 cm electric reflector slot for lighting the right side of the moat), a riflehouse (also with a slot for a reflector to illuminate the other side of the moat) and a toilet, while on the first floor there was a room for the troops and a room for the picket armed with illuminating rocket tubes.
- the fort n. 3, the most exposed one, has a gallery that leads to the counter-shoe and at the end forks into two caves with a view of the Valdastico. It constitutes the most advanced part of the fort in fact it was possible to repel the Italian troops. The two caves were closed with a steel plate with slots for machine guns. It seems that in the cave on the left, an 8 cm caliber cannon was installed to help the advance of the Strafexpedition.
- The moat had been completely dug into the rock, 8 meters wide and 8 to 10 meters deep; it was to be used to give security in case of attacks by the enemy even if given the position of the fort it was almost to be excluded. The moat was covered with a dense fence.
- After the outbreak of the First World War, the fort suffered severe bombardments by the Italian artillery but the fort ceased its strategic importance after the Strafexpedition of May 1916 when the front moved to the Asiago plateau.
- Unlike other neighboring fortresses, it was not damaged in the 1930s by the recoverers and therefore was not demolished. First of all, the state property became the owner and immediately rented it to the municipality of Lavarone. In the Fascist period many forts were sacked or demolished while the Belvedere fort was saved thanks to King Vittorio Emanuele III. In the 1940s, however, the metal domes of the fort and part of the metal cladding of the roof were removed. In the second post-war period the fort returned to the region and in 1966 to a private individual who built a museum. Finally in 2002 the municipality, which became the owner of the fort, began the restoration.
- Armament
- The main armament of the strong Belvedere consisted of a battery of three 10 cm caliber howitzers, protected by armored revolving steel domes with a thickness of 250 mm. Although the 10 cm was rather small, it was preferred to the larger calibers for various practical reasons and also in consideration of the fact that the Austrian forts had a predominantly defensive function. A relatively small caliber, in fact, allowed a considerable reserve of ammunition to be stacked and a relative ease of movement. Furthermore, a larger caliber would have led to a loss of solidity of the dome, which, in order to be stable, would have had to be completely redesigned and manufactured in larger dimensions. In order to withstand heavy bombardments, the fort was covered with concrete 2.5 meters thick in which three layers of 40 cm beams were inserted.
- Unlike the other fortifications of the Altiplano, Fort Gschwent did not have battle positions armed with cannons. On the other hand, it was preferred to equip the fortress with a substantial number of positions of Schwarzlose 8 mm Mod. 07 machine guns, equally efficient but much less expensive weapons.
- At the end of the conflict, Forte Belvedere, like the other forts of the Highlands, became the property of the Italian state property. In the twenties, a line of seven fortresses in a state of partial efficiency stood there, among the pastures and woods of these mountains, in memory of a war still too close to be forgotten.
- In 1997 the fort, one of the largest and best preserved, was purchased by the municipality of Lavarone which, with the financial support of the autonomous province of Trento, immediately launched and carried out a series of restoration and enhancement interventions on the site. In fact, today the fort houses a modern museum.
- War Museum (in the Fort). Forte Belvedere-Gschwent today presents itself to the visitor as a museum of himself and of the Great War 1914-18. The fortress museum is spread over the three floors of the main barracks:
- on the ground floor the story of Forte Belvedere and the fortified front of the Folgaria, Lavarone and Vezzena plateaus is explained;
- on the first floor we talk about life inside the fort and the war on the Alpine front;
- the second floor deals with the more general issues of the conflict, paying particular attention to life in the trenches and the human condition of the soldiers at the front.
- Inside there are historical artifacts and multimedia installations that illustrate the history of the fort, its garrison and the military events that have affected the Highlands. The fortress museum is open and can be visited from 1 April to 1 November, closed on Mondays (except July and August).
Events and parties
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Average prices
- 1 Tobia restaurant, Tobia locality, ☎ 39 0464 783336.
- 2 Enchanted Lair Restaurant, Mount Tablat, ☎ 39 335 7080309.
- Chalet Cimone restaurant, Mount Ust, ☎ 39 333 1602767.
- Millegrobbe hut, Millegrobbe locality, ☎ 39 348 7476813. Typical Trentino tavern
- 3 La Scaletta Pizzeria, Bertoldi locality, ☎ 39 0464 783233.
- Stube del Cervo - Restaurant and pizzeria, Cappella locality, ☎ 39 0464 783237. Typical Trentino tavern
- 4 Nido Verde restaurant, locality Chiesa, ☎ 39 0464 783151.
- 5 Da Villa Restaurant, locality Chiesa, ☎ 39 0464 783116.
Where stay
Moderate prices
- Bellaria hotel, Lavarone Gionghi, ☎ 39 0464 783221, fax: 39 0464 783221. Two stars
- 1 Corona hotel, Lavarone Church, ☎ 39 0464 783232, fax: 39 0464 783847. Two stars
- 2 Fior di Roccia hotel, Lavarone Gionghi, ☎ 39 0464 783138. Two stars
- National Hotel, Lavarone Chapel, ☎ 39 0464 783245, fax: 39 0464 783245. Two stars
- Garnì il Muretto, Lavarone Bertoldi, ☎ 39 0464 783523, fax: 39 0464 783523. One star
Average prices
- 3 Green Nest Hotel, Lavarone Church, ☎ 39 0464 783151, fax: 39 0464 783800. Three stars
- 4 Hotel Al Lago, Lavarone lake, ☎ 39 0464 783222, fax: 39 0464 783042. Three stars
- Ancient hotel, Lavarone Chapel, ☎ 39 0464 783163, fax: 39 0464 783922. Three stars
- 5 Bertoldi hotel, Lavarone Church, ☎ 39 0464 783165, fax: 39 0464 780766. Three stars
- 6 Hotel Caminetto, Lavarone Bertoldi, ☎ 39 0464 783214, fax: 39 0464 780668. Three stars
- Cervo hotel, Lavarone Chapel, ☎ 39 0464 783237, fax: 39 0464 783794. Three stars
- 7 Cimone Hotel, Lavarone Bertoldi, ☎ 39 0464 784128, fax: 39 0464 783818. Three stars
- 8 Club Hotel 21, Lavarone Bertoldi, ☎ 39 0464 783213, fax: 39 0464 783596. Three stars
- 9 Hotel Da Villa, Lavarone Church, ☎ 39 0464 783116, fax: 39 0464 783227. Three stars
- 10 Du Lac hotel, Lavarone Church, ☎ 39 0464 783112, fax: 39 0464 784204. Three stars
- Esperia hotel, Lavarone Church, ☎ 39 0464 783124, fax: 39 0464 783124. Three stars
- Monte Rust hotels, Lavarone Church, ☎ 39 0464 783140, fax: 39 0464 783720. Three stars
- 11 Miramonti Hotel, Lavarone Gionghi ( 39 0464 783105), ☎ 39 0464 783129. Three stars
- 12 Monteverde hotels, Lavarone Gionghi, ☎ 39 0464 783174, fax: 39 0464 783892. Three stars
- Romanda Hotel, Lavarone Church, ☎ 39 0464 783135, fax: 39 0464 783031.
Safety
- 1 Fanzago Pharmacy, Fraction Gionghi 99, ☎ 39 0464 783117.
How to keep in touch
Post office
- 2 Italian post, Location Gionghi, 69, ☎ 39 0464 781449.
Around
- Tourist Office of Lavarone, Gionghi hamlet, 107, ☎ 39 0464 724144, fax: 39 0464 783118, @[email protected].
- Vezzena dairy, Fraction Cappella, 5, ☎ 39 0464 783106, fax: 39 0464 783106, @[email protected].
