SAT / E297 - Forte Belvedere Gschwent - Pedemonte

<p>This is a splendid itinerary that leads from Forte Belvedere, a museum of the Alpe Cimbra fortified line, down the cart track between crags and rock jumps overlooking the Val d'Astico below. Combined with CAI path no. 597, it leads to the bottom of the valley at Pedemonte.</p>

<p>Having passed through the gorge of the Belvedere Gschwent Fortress, and having reached the vantage point, to the side of the forecourt, with a view of Lusèrna and the Val d'Astico, we descend, to the side of the fortress, in the direction of the Fortino, the little road traced out by the Austrians at the beginning of the 20th century and which gradually descends on the Spileck ridge. It was originally called Neuestrasse, now called Strada Nuova. The road carved into the rock and supported in many places by high stone walls crosses the furrows of the Giarón Valley and the Cogoletti Valley. With a spectacular view of the valley floor and the Spitz Tonezza opposite, we go round the Dosso della Spia and arrive at Le Tabelle, where, on the left, a variant for the Eck delle Albarèle branches off, an itinerary that connects with CAI path no. 598, which descends to the bottom of the Rio Torto valley. The road now circles the hill in front of us and we abandon it to descend along a steep but well-traced path through the woods, known as the Sentiero di Fondo Grande, which passes by the ruins of the Baito Arcangelin and descends in narrow bends to the small clearing of the Fondo Piccolo, close to the rocky edge overlooking the valley. The path now traverses towards the head of the Rio Torto valley and descends to the locality of La Crosetta, from where it continues with CAI signpost 597 towards Brancafòra di Pedemonte. From La Crosetta, the valley floor can be reached in just over half an hour.</p>