A missed story that became history: the Cadorna line (The trenches that prevented German and Austrian attacks)
Today the Cadorna line, which was ordered to be built during the First World War, represents a precious witness of the past that tells about military strategy and the history of Alto Varesotto.
"It was never used, but not useless". This is what General Luigi Cadorna wrote about the imposing network of fortifications that appeared along the Italian-Swiss border and which, later on, took his name. The line was built during the First World War to prevent a possible attack by the Germans and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. If history has never recorded that attack, maybe the merit is due to those 72 kilometres of blockades that rose between Ossola and the Bergamo Alps, made up of 25,000 square metres of barracks (88 for batteries of artillery) that were connected by 296 kilometres of road for heavy vehicles and 398 for cartroads and mule tracks. A job that required 30,000 workers and which cost 104,000,000 Italian Liras, equal to approximately 150,000,000 of today's Euros.
The construction logic followed the principles of military engineering, which aims at the harmonic integration between the work of men and the surrounding environment, to make the constructions less evident to enemy eyes. The work was hard and took up the whole week, excluding Sundays. Men, women and children all lent a hand, working up to 10 hours a day and under all kinds of weather conditions, even snow. In spite of the tiredness and risky working conditions - in Varesotto construction of the blockades claimed ten lives - construction of the Cadorna line had positive social effects on the territory: working on the border fortification meant not becoming an emigrant in search of work and, above all, not becoming part of the Veneto battle front. The workers were paid a regular wage, 3 and a half Italian Liras per day on the valley floor, or 5 for those who worked in the mountains.
When the Villa Giusti armistice was signed on 04th November 1918, people were still working on the line, which afterwards became an excellent refuge for the partisans of the Italian Resistance.
Today the Cadorna line is the fascinating witness of an important page of Italian history, so much so that its historical-cultural value has been recognised by law.
Thanks also to the work of the interested Mountain Communities, the Varesotto fortifications have been restructured and six routes of particular historical, didactic and naturalistic interest have been created around them, with signs indicating the routes to follow.
"It was never used, but not useless". This is what General Luigi Cadorna wrote about the imposing network of fortifications that appeared along the Italian-Swiss border and which, later on, took his name. The line was built during the First World War to prevent a possible attack by the Germans and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. If history has never recorded that attack, maybe the merit is due to those 72 kilometres of blockades that rose between Ossola and the Bergamo Alps, made up of 25,000 square metres of barracks (88 for batteries of artillery) that were connected by 296 kilometres of road for heavy vehicles and 398 for cartroads and mule tracks. A job that required 30,000 workers and which cost 104,000,000 Italian Liras, equal to approximately 150,000,000 of today's Euros.
The construction logic followed the principles of military engineering, which aims at the harmonic integration between the work of men and the surrounding environment, to make the constructions less evident to enemy eyes. The work was hard and took up the whole week, excluding Sundays. Men, women and children all lent a hand, working up to 10 hours a day and under all kinds of weather conditions, even snow. In spite of the tiredness and risky working conditions - in Varesotto construction of the blockades claimed ten lives - construction of the Cadorna line had positive social effects on the territory: working on the border fortification meant not becoming an emigrant in search of work and, above all, not becoming part of the Veneto battle front. The workers were paid a regular wage, 3 and a half Italian Liras per day on the valley floor, or 5 for those who worked in the mountains.
When the Villa Giusti armistice was signed on 04th November 1918, people were still working on the line, which afterwards became an excellent refuge for the partisans of the Italian Resistance.
Today the Cadorna line is the fascinating witness of an important page of Italian history, so much so that its historical-cultural value has been recognised by law.
Thanks also to the work of the interested Mountain Communities, the Varesotto fortifications have been restructured and six routes of particular historical, didactic and naturalistic interest have been created around them, with signs indicating the routes to follow.
