Near the city of Levico, in the province of Trentino, Italy, you can find the Fortress Colle delle Benne. It is build between 1880 and 1882. Much older than Fortress Belverdere.
The Road to the fortress is a bit hard to find, no obvious sign leads you to it. You will find it at the road from Levico to Pergine Valsugana on the northern end of the lake. A road leads up from the main road, just take it and it will lead you to the fortress.
Just in front of the gate, on your left side you will find openings in the rocky mountain side. It looks like positions for the defenders of the fort, a machinegun nest probably. Walking through the gate I soon discover that the place is under construction, reconstruction hopefully. We visited the fortres in 2009, our guess is a lot has changed over the years.
Looking over the fence, the fortress still looks amazing. The tank / anti personnel trench is intact, with defence positions throughout the perimeter.
The building seems deserted; the gun turrets are empty and silent. After almost 130 years the name of the fortress is visible in the wall above the entrance to the main building.
From one of the edges of the perimeter you have a stunning view on the town of Levico, which this fortress defended.
I walked around the fortress, and hope it soon will open up for visitors. I encountered no one expect a lonely snake lying on a branch.
On the other side of the fortress you will see the smaller of the 2 lakes, Lake Levico itself. If you know where to look, you’ll see fortress Tenna on the opposite ridge.
Werk Colle Delle Benne defended, together with Fortress “Werk” Tenna the roads to Lake Caldonazzo and Trento. Both fortresses defended the left flank of the stronghold Trento.
Visit
Our visit was in 2009, much has changed over the years, actual information for a visit must be found on the internet. We can provide you with more backgound information though.
Fortress “Werk” Colle delle benne
German wikipedia on Colle delle Benne
Sir Moeslang’s website on Werke Colle delle Benne
General information on the subject (both in German)
Links to the Fortresses in de Trento Area
Links to the Fortresses in the Alps
