|
|
 Fort VisitingFORT VISITING
In addition to its tourism-related records, the Cavallino-Treporti area boasts the unusual title of greatest concentration of unused military constructions, initially built to protect the glories of the Serenissima Republic, followed by the port, arsenal and industrial district during the two World Wars.
First time visitors to this part of Venice’s territory are immediately struck by a series of equidistant buildings standing out from the flat, uniform lagoon environment and clearly visible even dozens of kilometres away.
These towers, located close to Via Pordelio, once formed a network for surveillance and directing the shot of coastal artillery, and they were equipped, at the top, with the various instruments required to calculate distance and telemetry.
Together with these clearly-visible structures, whose construction commenced in the first decades of the 1900s, the military also built hundreds of other works, still visible today, such as coastal batteries, gunpowder factories, commands, barracks, forts, shelters and refuges
…
This singular architectural legacy is unique both within Italy and the rest of Europe, but could be considered as Italy’s answer to the Atlantic Wall in Normandy, due to both the extremely high concentration of former military buildings still present and, more importantly, the variety of different types.
The latter provide an almost unique example of the evolution of military building, spanning two centuries: from the mighty, impressive Forte Treporti dating from the Austrian invasion of 1851, to the system of coastal batteries from the early 1900s (San Marco, Vettor Pisani and Radaelli batteries) to those of the First World War (Amalfi Battery, Ca’Pasquali barracks, Ca’Vio gunpowder and Ca’Savio complex) through to the more recent German constructions of the Second World War (Küstenbatterie Nuova and Küstenbatterie Cavallino Nord). From a purely architectural standpoint, Cavallino’s coastal area boasts red brick stronghold forts, reinforced with contrasting white Istrian stone (Treporti fort at Lio Grandi), the first use of reinforced cement for military purposes (Vettor Pisani Battery) and the cubist-like modernism of the German defence bunkers.
The coastal area therefore offers a cross section of history, combined with an architecture manual, just waiting to be re-discovered and promoted. The Association Forti e Musei della Costa is a no-profit organisation founded in 1997 and initially animated by a group of local enthusiasts, which later grew with the addition of entrepreneurs connected to the tourism, Venetian and Italian history and architecture
These people (including engineers, architects, tourism professionals, historians and military artefact collectors) shared a common love for the area and the desire to valorise this unusual heritage, thus saving it from a severe state of abandon and decay and making it available for cultural and social use by residents and visitors. Whilst the competent public administrations resolve the remaining bureaucratic issues, the association is currently working on a project that looks set to become one of the most original, interesting and extensive museum circuits in the area, a novel proposal that will further enhance the many treasures that the coastal region already offers! (F.L.)
To download the map of fortresses and points of interest click here
In order to explore historical aspects or visit the fortifications, we recommend the guidebook Gli artigli del Leon (“The Lion’s Claws”) published by Ermanno Albertelli, Parma 1997, (www.tuttostoria.it).
 Photos of forts and guided tours
Photos of forts and guided tours [ dettagli ]
 The Amalfi Battery during the Great War
For those who wish to explore the military history of the area, a brand new (July 2006) book by historian Furio Lazzarini and published in conjunction with the Cavallino-Treporti Tourism Park traces history of Punta Sabbioni’s Amalfi Battery [ dettagli ]
|