24. The Great War: The Memorial Trail

A hike on the slopes of Monte Altissimo which aims to link up some of the most important locations on the Front Line of the Great War in Garda Trentino

The Austro-Hungarian and Italian defences faced one another on Monte Altissimo and this was the setting for some of the bloodiest episodes of the war in Garda Trentino. The area still has many traces of that period: trenches, tunnels, barracks and tracks which bear witness to the strategic importance of this area. There is also a little war cemetery along the trail, a touching memorial to those who died in the war.

The trail is dedicated to Domenico Rigotti, a mountain guide from Nago who was a key figure aiding those who wanted to cross the border. Between 1914 and 1915, Rigotti helped over a hundred people to escape to Italy, including a number of bourgeois intellectuals from Lake Garda. He was forced to abandon his “guide service” and flee to Italy himself in order to avoid being arrested when a local spy reported on his activities