The Defence Line at the Northern Frontier, better known as the Cadorna Line, and the Cassano Valcuvia Documentation Centre are a great way to discover the history of the area. They will immerse you into what life was like in the trenches. You can almost experience it first-hand.

Although the fortifications were requested by General Luigi Cadorna during World War I as protection against the Swiss border, the section on Monte San Martino became the scene of the anti-fascist campaign in 1943. The events of two wars are thus intertwined here.

The itinerary begins at the Documentation Centre, in the house that was once the home of the Partigiano Marco Giani, where documents and witness accounts are useful in reconstructing both the building stages of the Cadorna Line and the days of the Battle of San Martino. 

The tour continues to the Ridotto di San Giuseppe, and along the way you’ll encounter the walkways, firing positions, tunnels that sheltered people and goods, and the areas where they would place the machine guns.

The hike is not particularly difficult, but we recommend having a flashlight with you for the tunnel passages and to wear shoes and clothing that is appropriate for a mountain hike.

For the well-trained, we recommend hiking up to the summit of Monte San Martino, where there is a monument to the fallen soldiers of the Battle of November 1943.