Forte Rivoli
The fortress Forte Rivoli (until 1881 Fort Wohlgemuth ) was originally an Austrian military property in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia , which belonged to the Austrian Empire until 1866 . It lies to the right of the Adige on Monte Castello at an altitude of 227 m in the area of the municipality of Rivoli Veronese in today's province of Verona . Together with Fort Hlawaty opposite (now Forte Ceraino) as well as Fort Mollinary (now Forte Monte) and the Chiusa roadblock (now Forte di Chiusa), behind the Barrier of Pastrengo , 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 .
In 1797 the Battle of Rivoli took place here, during which Napoleon Bonaparte's troops defeated the Austrians.
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 Ludwig von Wohlgemuth , who had made a name for himself in the fight against the Italian insurgents. The planning for the construction was carried out, as with the other works of the group, by the "kk fortification office" in Verona .
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 largely rebuilt and adapted to the new conditions (front now facing north). For this purpose, the north-facing “Batteria bassa” was built as a detached plant. When it was put back into service, it was renamed “Forte Rivoli”, which, for the sake of simplicity, used the name of the hamlet on whose territory the plant was located.
Due to the outdated construction, it became useless as a fortress soon after completion. It was used as a magazine by the Italian army until 1980 and then abandoned. It was then given to the Municipality of Rivoli Veronese, who own it today.
General Information
The layout of the building consists of a two-storey battery block with a cannon gallery and a rifle gallery, which is oriented in a semicircle to the southwest and whose style corresponds to the “Torri Massimiliane” of the Verona fortress. On the left flank of the battery block is a stair tower, on the right flank a casemate corps is attached, which is equipped with cannon and rifle slots on two floors.
It was built on a rock cone in towering masonry made of the Veronese marble ( rosso ammonitico ) that occurs here, made of hewn blocks 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. After the "Batteria bassa" was built, 360 ° all-round defense was possible. The notches in the rifle gallery of the battery tower are arranged in groups of three. Inside there is a small circular courtyard with a cistern and a well. Due to its location, the plant was free from storms against infantry attacks, only a small moat with a drawbridge lay in front of the gate. To the right of this is a throat case with rifle slots.
The “Batteria bassa di Rivoli” was built to create an additional front towards the northeast. It has an almost square floor plan and consists of a front casemate corps with a wall eight meters thick in front. The guns fired over the bank (free-standing over the parapet) and stood on the ceiling of the casemates, which was divided into gun emplacements by hollow beams. On the right the battery was attached to the rock below the northern battery block of the fort. The left and right flanks were only slightly fortified because of the steeply sloping rock face; the throat consists of another casemate corps with rifle slots. This ended at the gate that leads into the courtyard as a postern . There is another building in the courtyard. The type of construction of the masonry used here shows clear differences to the Austro-Hungarian work.
The former powder magazine is still located on the southern slope of Monte Castello.
Crew and armament
The war crew consisted of:
- Forte Rivoli:
- half to three quarters of a company of infantry and 115 to 125 artillerymen.
- Batteria bassa di Rivoli:
- half to three quarters of a company of infantry and 35 to 45 artillerymen.
- Armament
17 cannons were posted, which dominated the entire area in the vicinity. Eight of these cannons were from 1866 and were already equipped with rifled barrels. In the "Batteria bassa" five guns of the caliber 120 mm or 150 mm and two mortars were set up.
today
The undamaged structure is usually open to the public on Sundays. Inside there was a World War I museum and a radio museum until 2017 . Cultural events took place in the “Batteria bassa”. Some cannons from World War II were also on display here.
Guns on display in the courtyard of the Batteria bassa:
Cannone 88/27
Cannone contraerea Bofors 40 mm
Cannone since 90/53
Obice since 75/18
Cannone 105/28
The Fort of Rivoli Veronese can be reached via the former military road that leads past the barracks of the factory crew (former Caserma Massena). It is recorded on the Kompass hiking map No. 102.
annotation
All technical information, including armament and crew, only relate to the Italian fort after 1884. For the time before the renovation, no usable information is currently available.
See also
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.
- AA. 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, Verona 1994.
Web links
- Information about the facility and opening times (Italian)
- http://www.museowalterrama.it/
- http://www.terradeiforti.it/forterivoli.html
Coordinates: 45 ° 34 ′ 30 ″ N , 10 ° 49 ′ 7 ″ E