Preface
This guide to the paths of the “Great War” in the
Natisone and Isonzo Valleys has been published
at the end of two important events. The first is the
entrance of Slovenia into the Schengen area (20th
December 2007) with the definitive elimination of
every border; the second is the end of the year of
the 90th anniversary of the terrible tragedy - the
Battle of Caporetto (24th October 1917). Nothing
can therefore better represent the spirit in which
the Pro Loco Nediške Doline – Valli del Natisone
has planned, written and now proposes this guide
to you.
Even though today these paths now reveal only
beauty and harmony, ninety years ago they were
covered in blood, in tears and the despair of many
soldiers of numerous nationalities sent to die in
this “unnecessary massacre;” they were also
places connected with suffering for the population
of the Natisone valleys, devastated from this
worldly tragedy. Today it would be unforgivable,
if all of this area were to be transformed into a
superficial historical Disneyland that changes this
tragedy into fiction, or worse, into a rhetorical and
military idolization.
However, with the elimination of the border, it is
now possible to promote these routes in their right
perspective. Carrying out these itineraries, almost
as a sort of pilgrimage, offers us the opportunity to
remember what happened ninety years ago and all
its cruelty. At the same time there is the possibility
to rejoice seeing that, by being able to pass freely
from Italy to Slovenia and vice versa, the great
historical divisions of the 1900s which brought
a lot of suffering, death, misery and obstacles to
economical and social development, have finally
ceased. The border between Italy and Slovenia,
between the Natisone and Isonzo valleys, after
two World Wars and thousands and thousands
of deaths, has now returned to be exactly what
divided Italy and the Hapsburg Empire before
1915. Therefore, not only does an unpleasant
memory linger but there is also a constant warning
against all the evil that can originate from when
nationalism, imperialism and ideologies prevail
over reason, human sense and brotherhood.
The hope is that many people from all over
Europe and beyond (even with the contribution
of this guide) can travel along and fill the paths
of our valleys and mountains in peace and
harmony, which for a very long period have been
transformed into insurmountable barriers, and
restore them, as they have been for centuries, to a
place of exchange and meeting, not only between
Slovenians from Benecia and the Isonzo Valley,
but also between different cultures and people.
..............................................................................................................Antonio De Toni
......................................................................................................President of the Pro Loco
...............................................................................................“Nediške Doline-Valli del Natisone”
