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Friuli-Venezia Giulia: Latest Posts |
Showing 1-10 of 59 posts. Most recent first | Next 10 
Slivia 1 (Hillfort) — Miscellaneous |
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The open-air Museum of Mt. Ermada offers a chance to discover the Austro-Hungarian defensive line fortified in September 1916 following the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo. The Italian victory had forced the Habsburg Imperial Army to abandon the high ground around Monfalcone and move to this area around the Karst surrounding Trieste. The choice of settling at Mt. Ermada and the surrounding hilltops was not random, but rather driven by strategic and practical reasons. From here, in fact, you could control both the Valley of Brestovizza (Brestovica Dol, now part of Slovenia) and the passage to Trieste, the Habsburg town claimed by the Italians. The sinkholes, the passages between the rocks and the natural caves of the Karst Plateau perfectly adapted to the needs of the Great War. Trenches, observation posts and housing for soldiers were built in no time, practically creating an insurmountable barrier for the Italians. All assaults of the Third Army between the Eighth and Tenth Battle of the Isonzo were indeed rejected despite the lower number of Austro-Hungarian soldiers. Open-air Museum of Mt. Ermada (From here you can see almost all of the Karst Forts which the Austro Hungarians used.) |
Posted by drewbhoy3rd November 2017ce |
Slivia 1 (Hillfort) — Fieldnotes |
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Follow the signs from the centre of another beautiful village, this time Slivia, once again parking the near the information board. The hillfort is around 600m away to the south east. Once again when the trees clear it is another astonishing array of white lime stone walls. Some of the original late Bronze Age dykes remain which surround the top of this fantastic viewpoint. The inner walls stand at an astounding 5m high and must be at least the same wide. I managed to walk the 300 meters all the way round with the only real gap being the entrance which is on the eastern side approaching from the north. Even the outer wall and ramparts are enormous. These cover the south, south east and south west. They stand at least 2m tall with the ditch being 2m wide. Just for good measure there is further defence with a dry stane dyke lying to south of the ditch. Just for size it is a mind blowing place, I've certainly never seen nothing like it. Like a lot of these forts it was used in later wars. The nearby Mount Ermada was protected by this and several other forts in the Isonzo Wars (see Misc) of 1916 between the Italians and Hapsburgs. Trenches and shacks can be found within the walls to the north east. In the beautiful places horrendous things happen and this area has had its fair share. However Carlo Marchesetti, an archaeologist who I'd read a lot about, restored a lot of the fort and is considered the areas greatest historian. It is very fitting that the fort now bears his name, so another glass was raised to him. Visited 18/10/2017. |
Posted by drewbhoy 3rd November 2017ce |
Slivia 1 (Hillfort) — Miscellaneous |
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Castle of Slivia I From the centre of the village you can see the first of the two castles of Slivia, and reach it by following path no. 47 which runs through meadows dedicated to hay production. The summit, located at 199 m above sea level, is surrounded by an imposing wall, up to 5 meters high, characterized by the presence of a passage. The inner circle, circular, was further defended by another semi-circular outer structure. The chateau was widely used, from 1500 to 400 BC. The stones nowadays scattered in confusing times are most likely due to both the perimeter wall and the protostorical buildings that found space inside the inner shelves. Scary remains demonstrate how the castle was frequented sporadically even in Roman times. The strategic importance of the altitude for the control of the surrounding area has also been noted in a much recent era: on the northeast side are still visible the shacks and trenches excavated to protect Mount Ermada during World War I. The castles for the grandeur of the remains and for the goodness of the research conducted here has been titled to the greatest local scholar of the castles: Carlo Marchesetti Castelliere di Slivia I - Percorsi in Provincia di Trieste |
Posted by drewbhoy 3rd November 2017ce |
Sales (Hillfort) — Fieldnotes |
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Once again we parked at a crossroads this time in the village of Sales, another beautiful wee place. Across the road there is a memorial to the local Slovene and Italian Partisans so it seemed apt that we were going to visit the hillfort that centuries ago had also defended this area. Head north from here until the tarred road runs out at a crossroads. Luckily a local man was working on a wall and gave us precise directions to the fort. Go west and keep going following the path until a filled in (by leaves etc) pond, man made centuries ago to help feed animals. Go round the pond and head south. This will lead directly to a notice board which gives info about the fort. Climb west over a couple of ancient walls until the huge rampart is met. The ditch for this is over 4m wide with the ramparts themselves still standing at 3m tall. There is 500m of this all round the top of the hill. Funnily enough if this fort had no trees it would resemble Down Law in Fife. (a stretch of imagination but reasonable I think.) The main entrance is on the south west and is 3.5m wide. Also in the middle of the fort there appears to be a cairn with perhaps a cist beginning to appear. I walked all the way round the fort and climbed to the top of the southern wall. Looking down it seemed the whole of the south face was a wall, this must have been an important place and a place of habitation. Land around here seems, nowadays, to quite fertile so maybe back in the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age they decided to stay. One thing they did know about was how to built walls, most of them are still standing. Then it was back down the hill retracing our steps back to the crossroads. On the other side of the road, a wee pub and fantastic food. I raised a glass to the memorial across the road! Visited 17/10/2017. |
Posted by drewbhoy 3rd November 2017ce |
Rupinpiccolo (Hillfort) — Miscellaneous |
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Rupinpiccolo Castle The castle's outer wall is 240 meters long and is distinguished by the presence of two access roads. The imposing remains of the walls led the local Superintendence to restore the site in view of its importance. The originally elliptical profile of the castle wall is now interrupted in its western part from the underlying quarry, but from the section it still perceives the robustness of the enclosure formed by a drywall wall, with the outer skirts formed by large limestone blocks and the internal filling made up of stones and earth, to give greater stability to the structure. The castellary had a purely defensive function and control of the territory: they are almost all places on the hills that enjoy a great view on the surrounding area and generally succeed in seeing each other, letting them think that in the era of for which the Second Millennium BC was used, there was a kind of network of reports between a castler and the other, so as to form a true line of defense. Castelliere di Rupinpiccolo - Percorsi in Provincia di Trieste |
Posted by drewbhoy 3rd November 2017ce |
Rupinpiccolo (Hillfort) — Fieldnotes |
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We parked at main crossroads in the middle of the small but beautiful Carse village of Rupinpiccolo, near the information board. Take the tarred road heading east until it ends then follow a track heading south, marked by white/red painted signs, until the trees clear. This was a very pleasant walk in nice warm weather, the week before had seen torrential rain. In this clearing there is the astonishing and dazzling white limestone east entrance to the fort. It is a stunning place. On the western side there is a similar steep access probably used to transport large weapons. The walls are gigantic being almost 4m tall and are at least 4 to 5m wide. They encircle the hill coming to at least 240m in length. Further down the hill there is a second defensive wall to the south. To the west there has been quarrying but luckily the locals seem to have repaired a lot of the damage. Sadly this area, as we all know, has seen a lot of war through the centuries and this fort was used as a gun emplacement during World 1. Evidence of this can be seen on the summit of the hill. Trieste, one of Europe's major ports, is just over the hills to the south. I later found out that there are three more forts nearby surrounding Rupinpiccolo. In fact all the Slovenian/Italian border area is covered in prehistory. What an excellent reason to go back, which we will. Visited 17/10/2017. |
Posted by drewbhoy 3rd November 2017ce |
Slivia 1 (Hillfort) — Images (click to view fullsize) |
   
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Posted by drewbhoy 22nd October 2017ce |
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