Il Sassone

A first defensive line was set up as early as 1916, to restrain the possible collapse of the Campogrosso Pass. The defensive line started at the Ristele Pass, and via Mt. Rove and the St. Juliana Pass, headed north to Mt. Sassone and eventually joined the Campogrosso defensive line at the Fugazze Plain. A second, more complex line, perpendicular to the first one, was created along the mountain ridge in 1917 by building a communication carriage road in place of the old mule track. The line tract subsequently called “Ortogonale 1”, and equipped with trenches, walkways, artillery stations and cave shelters, would branch off here towards Mt. Spitz di Staro and the Xon Pass.

Hundreds of military and civil workers were employed for the construction of the military infrastructures, with frequent, and unfortunately sometimes deadly accidents.
Here, on 8th July 1917, four workers of the Military Engineer Corps got killed, and 15 were injured while digging a tunnel.