The First World War in Val di Ledro

Today Val di Ledro is a small paradise of nature, sport and culture. Just over a hundred years ago, however, things were very different. Like much of the Trentino region, Val di Ledro was the scene of fierce and bloody fighting: from 1914 to 1918 the First World War was fought here. At the start of the twentieth century, Val di Ledro belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and lay right on the border with the Kingdom of Italy. When hostilities broke out between the two countries in the spring of 1915, the valley became a battlefield. Kaiserjäger and Italian Alpini troops faced each other on the peaks of Val di Ledro in what became known as the 'White War'.

Traces of this past survive throughout the valley today, right up to the mountain peaks: trenches, walkways, casemates, tunnels cut into the rock, barracks and military hospitals are still clearly visible along many high-altitude hiking trails. In Val di Ledro, a mountain walk thus becomes an opportunity to revisit history and discover new things about our recent past. At Dromaè, an outlying Austrian outpost at the foot of Cima Oro, you can walk along the Austro-Hungarian Trail and see the walkways and huts used by Austrian soldiers. Below Mazza di Pichea, near the Riccabona tunnel, one of the wooden huts that housed Austrian officers has been reconstructed. At Saval, the remains of the old military hospital can still be seen, and many military remains are also found on Monte Nozzolo and Monte Cadria.

Another fascinating stop is the Garibaldi Museum in Bezzecca, which houses a section dedicated to the First World War in Val di Ledro. Nearby, at Colle Santo Stefano, the main Italian base in Val di Ledro, you can visit the Ossuary Church and see the remains of trenches and military tunnels. The hill is now a war memorial and shrine dedicated to the fallen of both sides, and the unknown soldier rests in the small church of Santo Stefano. Finally, a stretch of the Peace Trail, which retraces the Great War front line in Trentino, runs along the peaks of the Ledro Alps.

During the war, the people of Ledro were evacuated to the central regions of the Empire, mainly Bohemia and Moravia. On their return they found everything destroyed. From Eastern Europe, however, they brought back a few traditions that survive in local cuisine to this day: Bohemian dumplings and livance (pancakes), both typical of Czech cooking.