Route 5: from Mesenzana to Cassano Valcuvia (In the places where the first battle of the Italian Resistance was fought)
The Cadorna line did not always remain unused. In fact, between 13th and 15th November 1943 the first encounter of the Italian Resistance, and the only battle ever fought along the line, took place in the forts of Monte San Marino.
The route that follows the stages of that historic event begins from Mesenzana and leads along a military road which, equipped with wooden parapets and support walls, heads towards the Vallalta fort, to which it was connected by a graded trench. A little further on, emplacements for machine guns and trenches, the only ones built using light prefabricated material will appear. The hardest battles were fought in the Vallalta fort. In the afternoon of 15th November Colonel Croce, who was in command of the partisans, was besieged by a much bigger army and was therefore forced to order the retreat. The fighters used the underground tunnels to reach Cassano Valcuvia and from there the safe ground of the Swiss border.
The German attack did not even spare the mountain peak, held by nine men. After having resisted for three quarters of an hour under German air bombings and the overwhelming German enemy force, the partisans came out into the open: they were made prisoners and afterwards shot to death. In addition to the rock and cement forts that border the summit of the mountain, there is a sanctuary on the San Martino summit in remembrance of the tragic battle. The church of the same name was instead rebuilt after being destroyed in retaliation by the Germans on 18th November 1943.
A stop at San Michele, a hamlet of Porto Valtravaglia, is worthwhile before going into the valley because it has a protoromanic church with the same name dating back to the eleventh century with an unusual triangular-shaped bell-tower.
The route ends in the redoubts of Cassano Valcuvia, a trench system that extends over various levels to defend a strategic point. The trenches were dug into the rock, under the hill of San Giuseppe and the homonymous church. They extend over three levels in parallel tracks, united by stairs and communication trenches. Externally they are protected by machine gun posts and trenches.
The route that follows the stages of that historic event begins from Mesenzana and leads along a military road which, equipped with wooden parapets and support walls, heads towards the Vallalta fort, to which it was connected by a graded trench. A little further on, emplacements for machine guns and trenches, the only ones built using light prefabricated material will appear. The hardest battles were fought in the Vallalta fort. In the afternoon of 15th November Colonel Croce, who was in command of the partisans, was besieged by a much bigger army and was therefore forced to order the retreat. The fighters used the underground tunnels to reach Cassano Valcuvia and from there the safe ground of the Swiss border.
The German attack did not even spare the mountain peak, held by nine men. After having resisted for three quarters of an hour under German air bombings and the overwhelming German enemy force, the partisans came out into the open: they were made prisoners and afterwards shot to death. In addition to the rock and cement forts that border the summit of the mountain, there is a sanctuary on the San Martino summit in remembrance of the tragic battle. The church of the same name was instead rebuilt after being destroyed in retaliation by the Germans on 18th November 1943.
A stop at San Michele, a hamlet of Porto Valtravaglia, is worthwhile before going into the valley because it has a protoromanic church with the same name dating back to the eleventh century with an unusual triangular-shaped bell-tower.
The route ends in the redoubts of Cassano Valcuvia, a trench system that extends over various levels to defend a strategic point. The trenches were dug into the rock, under the hill of San Giuseppe and the homonymous church. They extend over three levels in parallel tracks, united by stairs and communication trenches. Externally they are protected by machine gun posts and trenches.
