Outdoor Museum Dolina del XV Bersaglieri

The major part of the outdoor museum is taken up by the Dolina del XV Bersaglieri. It is a karst valley or doline between Hill 86 (The Redipuglia Charnel House) and Hill 117 (Monte Sei Busi). The museum area encompasses part of the fortified trenches which ran from Monfalcone/Tržič to Monte San Michele/Debela griža and provided defence of the karst edge during the initial battles along the Isonzo (Soča). The doline got this name because a marking was found here with the symbol of the Bersaglieri Battalion. However, it is also known under the name of Dolina dei Cinquecento (Doline of the 500), because a collective tomb was discovered here, with five hundred corpses of fallen soldiers who were later disinterred and reburied in the nearby charnel house. In the area of Dolina del XV Bersaglieri, fights for control over it between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian Armies started with the First Isonzo Battle, and were going on until July–August 1915, when the area was conquered by Italian troops. Since the front moved eastwards, the valley was no longer on the first front line, so the command could be quartered there and a small war hospital was organized, remains of which can still be seen today as well as numerous structures with trenches and remains of soldiers’ cabins.

The area was restored between 1990 and 2004 by Pro Loco Fogliano Redipuglia. Nowadays it is a memorial place, an outdoor museum and a venue, where summer evening events take place.
The outdoor museum is in good condition. Trenches and dolinas are well preserved.There are some ruins of old buildings which have been left as they were found in 1990. PromoTurismoFVG is the main promoter of this heritage site.

© (1, 2) Paolo da Pozzo, PromoTurismoFVG; (3) Schirra/Giraldi, PromoTurismoFVG; (4-7) PromoTurismoFVG