A Tour of Monte Grappa, Among Trenches and Mountain Huts

Monte Grappa is a mountain that most tourists in the Veneto only take in with a glance, glimpsing it on the horizon from the plain. An isolated massif, separated from the Dolomites proper, it lacks the famous summits that fill magazine covers: for that reason, apart from the peak days of summer around the top, its plateaus and woods remain travelled almost only by those who live at its foot, between Bassano, Feltre and the Treviso foothills.

The memorial

The symbolic heart of the massif is Cima Grappa, where the great Military Memorial stands, a monumental shrine holding the remains of tens of thousands of Italian and Austro-Hungarian fallen of the First World War. Here Grappa was the scene of ferocious battles after Caporetto, and the whole mountain still preserves trenches, tunnels and communication trenches. Near the memorial you can visit the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III, a long system of passages dug into the rock, and the small war museum: this is why Grappa is at once a hiking destination and a place of memory.

The classic itinerary is a loop that combines the climb to the summit with the traverse of the surrounding plateaus. You can start from the Romano d'Ezzelino or Borso del Grappa side, climbing along the Strada Cadorna, the military artery built during the war, or choose the trails that cross the mountain huts. The area of Col Campeggia, the Lebi and the Meatte plateau offers wide pastures, active huts and a dense network of waymarked trails. On the Belluno side, towards Seren del Grappa and the Val delle Mure, the landscape grows wilder and more solitary.

The mountain huts

One thing that makes Grappa special are its mountain huts: many are still working and in summer produce Morlacco and Bastardo, the cheeses typical of this mountain, which you can buy directly or taste at the farm inns. Walking from hut to hut, across the high-altitude meadows dotted with sinkholes and blooms, is one of the most authentic ways to get to know the massif. Along the way you constantly come across the marks of the war, from reconstructed trenches to memorial stones scattered in the grass.

Getting there

Getting here almost always requires a car. The Strada Cadorna leads all the way to the top of Grappa from the foothills, but it is narrow and winding, to be driven slowly. Those who prefer to climb on foot can leave the car lower down, at Borso, Romano d'Ezzelino or on the Feltre side, and follow the CAI trails. Once up high you move exclusively on foot or by mountain bike, along gravel roads and well-marked tracks; the distances between refuges and huts can be covered in a day.

When to go

The right months are June, when the pastures are green and the huts open, and September and October, when the air turns clear, the woods shift to yellow and red and the summer heat is a memory. In these periods Grappa is particularly quiet: unlike the crowded Dolomites, here even on shoulder-season weekends you meet mostly local hikers and the odd cycle tourist. The summit stays less busy and the plateaus are often deserted, perfect for those seeking silence.

A practical tip: the summit of Grappa is far more exposed and cooler than the plain below, and the weather changes fast, with mists rising quickly. Bring a windproof jacket and warm layers even in summer, set off early to enjoy the views before the clouds cover the Veneto plain, and allow enough time to stop at the memorial and in the tunnels. To visit Grappa is to combine the effort of the walk with quiet reflection before a place that still carries its history on its shoulders.

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