Forte Tudaio, Military fort in Vigo di Cadore, Italy.
Forte Tudaio is a concrete military fort on the summit of Monte Tudaio in Vigo di Cadore, built on three floors in a U shape measuring 37 by 15 metres. It held four cylindrical emplacements for 149 AL 35 cannons and four Gardner mod. 1886 machine guns, with a garrison planned for 300 soldiers. The structure also included a water well, a bread oven, a powder magazine, a perimeter wall and trenches.
Construction of Forte Tudaio began in 1911 on Monte Tudaio, chosen by Captain F. Pecco because it overlooked the Monte Croce di Comelico pass, Misurina, the Ansiei valley and the Mauria pass. It was an Italian fort, built in concrete on three floors in a U shape measuring 37 by 15 metres, with four emplacements for 149 AL 35 cannons and four Gardner mod. 1886 machine guns. On the night of 6–7 November 1917 it bombarded enemy positions near the Monte Croce di Comelico pass and Monte Cavallino; the Italians then abandoned it, and the Austrians blew it up between 18 and 26 October 1918.
The fort's name comes from Monte Tudaio, the peak in Vigo di Cadore where it stands. Visitors today reach it on foot in about four hours and find explanatory panels installed during a 2001 restoration. After World War I, with no strategic role in World War II, the structure was stripped by recuperanti, locals who salvaged metal and materials from abandoned military sites.
Access to the fort is available via two hiking routes starting from the Pino Solitario restaurant parking area, with CAI trail 339 following the former military road. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear and be prepared for steep terrain at high elevation.
The fort was never the scene of fighting: the Italians left in 1917 after removing the gun breeches, and the Austrians blew it up between 18 and 26 October 1918 before withdrawing. After the war it was stripped by scrap salvagers, and since 2001 restoration work has placed information panels on the site.
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