Seconda linea di resistenza della Valtellina (1915-1918)
The Valtellina Second Defensive Line
Zweite Verteidigungslinie des Veltlins
Valley-floor barrier on the right-hand side of the river Adda
This is where the cave system of the tunnel-shelter began. It ran for about 414 metres at a depth of 15 metres and was 1.5 metres wide, allowing soldiers to move through and take shelter from enemy fire until they reached the then National Road. Its zigzag layout was designed to provide covered access to other structures running parallel to the tunnel uphill, including trenches and machine-gun emplacements that covered every possible direction across the valley floor. The structures were protected by a six-metre-wide barbed-wire line which, on the valley floor itself, doubled to form a continuous defensive line.
The machine-gun emplacement and barbed-wire line in this area*
This barrier was necessary because, while the fortifications on the mountain slopes would have made it possible to defend against attacks from Val Grosina and Valcamonica, an enemy advance could have come down the valley floor from the north-west if the first lines at Stelvio were breached or the enemy entered through Val di Rezzalo. Once the Adda had been crossed near Casale Lago and this barrier passed, the road to Milan would have been easier, though at an enormous cost in human lives. Today this defensive arrangement is difficult to imagine, and little remains visible, both for safety reasons and because the town’s urban expansion erased all physical traces.
Georeferencing of the valley-floor defensive system on the historical map*
Historical documents, period photographs and testimonies from people who lived in the decades after the conflict have provided a wealth of information about the valley-floor barrier.
If you would like to learn more, don’t miss the next stops along the route!
* Source: Historical and Cultural Institute of the Engineer Corps. Permission no. 8/2026.
Redistribution and publication without authorization are prohibited.
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Iniziativa patrocinata e sostenuta dalla Provincia di Sondrio
