Forte Ceraino
The fortifications Forte Ceraino (until 1884 Fort Hlawaty ) was originally an Austrian military property in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia , which belonged to the Austrian Empire until 1866 . It is to the left of the Adige on a ridge in 236 m height in the fraction Ceraino the municipality of Dolcè in today's province of Verona . Together with Fort Wohlgemuth opposite (now Forte Rivoli) as well as Fort Mollinary (now Forte Monte) and the Chiusa road block (now Forte di Chiusa), behind the Pastrengo block it formed the second barrier on the Adige with the road from the south Tyrol (today's state road 12 - SS 12). The later Italian name for it was: "Gruppo di Rivoli". Forte San Marco , which also belongs to this restricted group , was only built by the Italians after 1888. Due to the design, the two plants were able to take the entire gorge under crossfire .
After the uprisings in Lombardy in 1848 , two restricted groups were created in front of the then Tyrolean border with Veneto , which were supposed to prevent any opposing troops from passing through the Adige valley.
It was built at the suggestion of Field Marshal Radetzky in the years 1850–1851 and was named after Field Marshal Lieutenant Johann von Hlawaty, who had made a name for himself in the field of military architecture. The planning for the construction was carried out, as with the other works of the group, by the "kk fortification office" in Verona . The construction supervision lay with the genius major Felix von Swiatkiewich.
After Veneto was lost to Austria after the war of 1866 , the border shifted to the north and the fortifications to the south became the property of the Kingdom of Italy and thus the Regio Esercito . Until 1884 the fort was rebuilt in large parts (the cannon openings had to be directed to the north.) When it was put back into service, it was renamed "Forte Ceraino", which for the sake of simplicity was the name of the hamlet on which Area the plant was located.
Due to the outdated construction, it became useless as a fortress soon after completion, was then used as an ammunition depot for a few years and then abandoned.
General Information
The ground plan of the structure is irregular, as it was given by the rock plateau that was determined as the location. It was built in towering masonry made of the Veronese marble ( rosso ammonitico ) occurring here in the style of the time with a waterproof layer of clay and a pile of earth of up to two meters on the ceiling. The right flank is attached to the rock face. To secure the south-east facing back with the entrance, a forward throat case with rifle slots was built. The originally primary direction of fire to the northwest and southwest was supplemented by the Italians in the northeast after the renovation. This front with the previous wall, which was merely crenellated, was replaced by a casemate corps with eight gun placemants and massively reinforced. Furthermore, the previous six gun casemates were directed to the west and two to the south-west.
Most of the fort was surrounded by a moat about ten meters wide and three meters deep. The water supply was ensured via a rainwater cistern in the courtyard. The facility was entered via a drawbridge .
Crew and armament
The war crew consisted of half to three quarters of a company of infantry and 100 to 115 artillerymen.
- Armament
- 8 cannons of 12 or 15 cm caliber in the north battery
- 9 field guns in the other casemates
- 2 to 4 rapid fire guns for trench defense
- 2 to 4 mortars
today
The structure, which in and of itself is undamaged, has been used as a warehouse by members of the State Forestry Administration (Corpo forestale dello stato) in recent years. At the present time it stands empty and is in danger of decay. It can be reached from the hamlet of Ceraino via a narrow military road that branches off in front of the fort to Forte Monte and the hamlet of Monte. It is not recorded on the Kompass hiking map No. 102.
annotation
All technical information, also on armament and crew, refer only to the Italian fort after 1884, as could be determined by the kuk Evidenzbureau, among others. At the moment, no information is available for the time before the renovation.
- See also → Risorgimento
literature
- Francesco Garau, Augusto Garau: Forti - Rocche e Castelli della Provincia di Verona. Provincia di Verona Turismo (Verona)
- Vittorio Jacobacci: La piazzaforte di Verona sotto la dominazione austriaca 1814–1866. Cassa di Risparmio di Verona Vicenza e Belluno (Verona 1980)
- Il Quadrilatero nella storia militare, politica, economica e sociale dell'Italia risorgimentale 1967. Comune di Verona (Verona)
- A. Sandrini, P. Brugnoli: Architettura a Verona dal periodo napoleonico all'età contemporanea. Banca popolare di Verona 1994 (Verona)
Web links
Coordinates: 45 ° 34 ′ 33 " N , 10 ° 49 ′ 53" E