Historical Notes
In the winter of 1915, the year in which the Great War began, Santa Caterina Valfurva, with its Ortles-Cevedale-Adamello mountain giants connecting to the chain of Alps via the Stelvio Pass and the Gavia Pass, became a strategic military point for the defense of our borders.
Military defense lines were built at a height of 3000 meters , where panoramic and lookout points overlooking the surrounding valleys guaranteed a perfect view of the enemy’s advance intentions and moves.
Amid the snow and crippling cold, typical of winter in Santa Caterina Valfurva, were erected: trenches, artillery emplacements, and caves for the troops .
Today, walking along the mountain paths of Valfurva and, in particular, the Sunny Valley – Passo Dell’Alpe – Mot De Li Leur – Piano del Termin path , it is possible to find barbed wire fences, inlets dug into caves for sentries to station, bridges and stone pavements built by soldiers to reach the highest strategic points for defence.
Today, Santa Caterina Valfurva is, therefore, a place that bears witness to the tragic history of our people and guardian of the pain of the young soldiers engaged in the front.
