Tre Sassi fort ( Italian Forte Tre Sassi or Forte Tra i Sassi;

Ladino Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to: * The register of Judaeo-Spanish used in the translation of religious texts, such as the Ferrara Bible *Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especi ...

Fort Intra i Sas) is a fortress and museum on the road to the Passo di Valparola, within the ''comune'' of

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite river, in an alp ...

in the southern (

Dolomitic Dolomite () is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally The term is also used for a sedimentary carbonate rock composed mostly of the mineral dolomite. An alternative name sometimes used for the dolomiti ...

) Alps of the Veneto region of

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

. Hidden between the Ampezzo valley and the high Val Badia, it was built by Austrians between 1897 and 1901 as a fortification against attack from the Italians on the Falzàrego and Valparo. During World War I it was a favorite target for the Italians, and the fort was destroyed as there was inadequate artillery to defend it. Forte Tre Sassi is one of three preserved sites which make up the Great War Museum in the Dolomites. The fort houses a museum and an information center.

History

The Forte Tre Sassi is located at an elevation of . It was constructed by Austrians in 1897 during the Austro-Hungarian period on the Passo Valparola. Situated between

Sass de Stria Sass de Stria is a mountain of the Veneto, Italy. It has an elevation of 2,477 meters. During the First World War, the mountain and surrounding area was the scene of fighting between Italy and Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referr ...

and Piccolo Lagazuoi, dominating the passage between the Passo Falzarego and Val Badia in South Tyrol (Alto Adige), it was part of the large complex of Austrian fortifications built on the Italian border in the late 19th and early 20th century. Rendered unusable due to a bombing by the Italians on 5 July 1915, the ruins remained in a state of disrepair until the advent of the 21st century, when the fort was restored by the local administration of Ampezzo, with the assistance of the Lancedelli family.

Museum

The fort houses a museum containing relics related to the First World War. The museum was established on 27 September 2002 and opened to the public on 12 August 2003. It houses the historical artifacts of World War I collected by the Lancedelli family and it is also managed by them. A man dressed as a World War I soldier stands guard outside the facility. The exhibits were collected over a period of 45 years and the museum is reported to have an attendance of 20,000 visitors a year.

Army barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

and trenches have been recreated near the museum and a snowshoeing tour enables visitors to appreciate what life was like in the trenches in winter.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{coord, 46.5278, 11.9915, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Forts in Italy Buildings and structures in Cortina d'Ampezzo Buildings and structures completed in 1897 1897 establishments in Italy Museums in Veneto Military and war museums in Italy Museums established in 2002 2002 establishments in Italy