NIGEL'S RAMBLES

Saturday, July 25, 2015

The Gothic Line

Seventy one years ago the Apennines between Florence and Bologna were the scene of a bloody battle as the American 5^th army at the Passo del Giogo tried to punch a hole through the Gothic line, a defensive line built by the Germans to stop the Allies reaching the Po valley. A hard four day battle ensued.

Passo del Giogo, FI

At the Passo del Giogo the Comune of Barberino Mugello have restored some of the defences and created a footpath that leads you through the area of battlefield. It is possible to see the underground caverns tunnelled by the defenders and the faint remains of the trench system. It takes two or three hours to complete the circuit.

Reconstructed defences, Passo del Giogo, FI

On Monte Altuzzo on the first part of the path, one is struck by the steepness of the mountain that the troops of the 85 division had to climb and conquer . Even with mountain boots it is difficult to descend in some places. It was a battle of small groups of soldiers eliminating the defences bit by bit. Soldiers would often get lost in the thick forest on the mountain, the fog of war was total here.

The battle is described in minute detail in this downloadable PDF book : http://history.army.mil/html/books/011/11-7-1/index.html

Monte Altuzzo, Passo del Giogo, FI

Monte Monticelli from Monte Altuzzo, Passo del Giogo, FI

Monte Altuzzo, Passo del Giogo, FI

One eventually arrives at a cavern carved into the rock that was a German command centre and strong point, little remains to be seen here and nature has reappropriated the trenches and other works.

German Bunker, Monte Altuzzo, Passo del Giogo, FI

American Foxholes, Monte Altuzzo, Passo del Giogo, FI

The path then leads on to Monticelli the peak captures by the 91^st division, here there is less to see, another hard to find strongpoint tunnel and if you leave the footpath and reach the top of Monte Monticelli some trenches are still evident.

German Bunker, Monte Monticelli, Passo del Giogo, FI

German Bunker trenches, Monte Monticelli, Passo del Giogo, FI

Trenches, Monte Monticelli, Passo del Giogo, FI

It is a footpath well worth doing just to try and imagine what this battle was like for the troops on the ground, something that maps and descriptions in history books cannot convey entirely.

363 Infantry Regiment memorial, Passo del Giogo, FI

85 th Division memorial, Passo del Giogo, FI

Just below the pass there are two monuments erected by the Regiments which took part in the battle.

A few miles down the road at the Futa pass, where the Germans expected the Americans to try and break the line, there is a huge German war cemetery with 30.683 graves. It was opened in 1969 and contains the remains of soldiers who fell across a large area of Northern Italy. It is quite moving in its starkness and size.

German War Cemetery, Futa Pass, FI


German War Cemetery, Futa Pass, FI

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Rocca di Sala Baganza

Sunday the weather was rotten as it has been for the past couple of weekends, so I decided to visit one of the lesser known castles in the Province of Parma.

Rocca di Sala Baganza, PR

The Rocca Sanvitale in Sala Baganza is just a few kilometres west of the more famous Torrechiara and I was not sure whether it was worth a visit or not. The reviews on Tripadvisor were extremely contradictory, but I was not in the mood for a lot of driving so I decided to give it a try.

Rocca di Sala Baganza, PR

The Rocca suffered badly during an earthquake in 2008 and the first impression when one arrives is that of contrasting cure and degradation. Especially as one enterers.

Rocca di Sala Baganza, PR

The tour started well, no guided tour whizzing you round the castle, I was free to wander and look around at my own pace. The castle is part owned by the “Comune” and another part is in private hands still. The publicly owned part has been nicely restored, whist the privately owned part has been left in disrepair after the earthquake and it is not possible to visit this part.

Rocca di Sala Baganza, PR

The Rocca as we see it mostly dates from 1477 and was built by the Sanvitale family and remained with them until 1612 when the Duke of Parma beheaded most of the local Feudal Lords including the Sanvitale’s to take possession of their lands.

Sala dei Busti. Rocca di Sala Baganza, PR

Sala di Enea. Rocca di Sala Baganza, PR

Rocca di Sala Baganza, PR

The frescoed rooms date in the first part of the castle that one passes from the tenure of the Sanvitale’s . These frescoes or what remains of them were a nice surprise to me, especially the small “Camerino del Baglione” with its dainty depictions of birds flying on the painted ceiling. The Rocca is worth visiting just to see this fantastic little room.

Camerino del Baglione. Rocca di Sala Baganza, PR

Finally we arrive at the last part that one can visit, above the main entrance staircase. The frescoed ceiling has been restored, but the walls are still propped up and unrepaired. The style of the splendid “Sala d'Ercole” is very different to the preceding rooms and the statues on the landing add to the atmosphere.