HIDDEN VERONA - EXPLORING THE BASTION OF SAINT GEORGE

HIDDEN VERONA - DISCOVERING THE BASTION OF SAINT GEORGE
VERONA! THE ROMANTIC CITY OF ITALY! POPULAR FOR THE TRAGEDY OF ROMEO AND JULIET, THE ARENA, THE OLD TOWN! BUT ALSO FOR ITS FORTIFICATIONS! MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS OF HISTORY WITHIN ITS WALLS, GATES AND TOWERS THAT TODAY ARE MORE THAN 6 MILES LONG, THIS IS WHY IN 2000 VERONA WAS DECLARED A WORLD HERITAGE SITE! TODAY WE EXPLORE THE UNDERGROUND PART OF THIS HUGE STRUCTURE, THE LESS KNOWN, THE BASTION OF SAINT GEORGE, BUILT BY THE AUSTRIANS BETWEEN 1836 AND 1840 ON A PREVIOUS VENETIAN BASTION OF VERONA, AND STILL VERY WELL PRESERVED!
PROFESSOR MAURIZIO D'ALESSANDRO, THE GROUP LEADER OF THE VOLUNTEERS FROM VERONA WHO MADE POSSIBLE THE VISITS, GUIDES ME THROUGH THE BOWELS OF THE BASTION

THE AUSTRIAN BASTION OF SAINT GEORGE HAD THE PURPOSE OF DEFENDING THE POSTAL ROAD TO THE TYROL, WHICH PASSED THROUGH TRENTO GATE – BETTER KNOWN AS SAINT GEORGE GATE - TO DEFEND THE CITY FROM THE ENEMIES COMING FROM THE RIVER, AND IT IS PART OF A NETWORK OF FORTRESSES BUILT ON THE HILLS AROUND THE CITY TO DETER THE ENEMY FROM ATTACKING VERONA. THIS IS THE LAST LINK OF A FORTIFIED CHAIN THAT RUNS AROUND THE HILLS OF VERONA.

IN 1936 THE RIVERSIDE WAS RAISED. THE PREVIOUS ONE WAS AT THE SAME LEVEL AS THE RIVER, SO IT’S CURIOUS BUT WHEN YOU ENTER THE BASTION YOU ARE ACTUALLY ON THE FIRST FLOOR, AS YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE OUTSIDE, LOOKING AT THE ARCH OF A DOOR THAT TODAY IS AT THE GROUND LEVEL

THE BASTION IS WELL PRESERVED. IT MIGHT SEEM A PARADOX BECAUSE THIS IS A DEFENSIVE STRUCTURE SO MADE TO RESIST TO BOMBS, BUT THE AUSTRIAN MILITARY ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS TOOK CARE OF THE BEAUTY OF THE BASTION. THE FLOOR IS MADE OF COTTO TILES, LAID IN HERRINGBONE PATTERN. THE VAULTS ARE ALL VERY WELL MANUFACTURED, ALSO TO PROVIDE A PROPER THERMAL INSULATION. EVERYTHING HERE IS MANUFACTURED WITH PATIENCE AND PRECISION AND NICE TO THE SIGHT. THE BASTION HAD THE CHANCE TO INSTALL ARTILLERY, LIKE MORTARS, WHILE OUTSIDE WAS BETTER TO PLACE CANNONS WITH A LONGER RANGE.

IN A TUNNEL OF THE BASTION IT’S WRITTEN “DON’T STAND HERE”. IT’S QUITE STRANGE THAT IT’S WRITTEN IN ITALIAN SINCE THE BASTION IS AUTRIAN, BUT IT WAS WRITTEN DUING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, WHEN THIS AREA WAS PART OF THE KINGDOM OF ITALY. SO DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR THE BASTION WAS USED AS A SHELTER FOR THE POPULATION DURING AIR BOMBINGS
ANOTHER PROOF OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR ARE THOSE DRY-STONE WALLS THAT ARE BUILT TO PREVENT DANGEROUS AIR MASS MOVEMENTS INSIDE THE TUNNEL CAUSED BY A BOMB. THE AUSTRIANS DEVISED THIS KIND OF BARRICADE SYSTEM WITH WALLS LEANING AGAINST THE TUNNEL TO BREAK THE SHOCK WAVE, AND THE WALLS ARE ALTERNATELY PLACED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE TUNNEL, STRENGHTEN THEIR EFFECT.

THE WALL OF THE BASTION OF SAINT GEORGE IT’S ABOUT 6 FEET THICK. UNFORTUNATELY IN THE 1950S AND 1960S THEY COVERED THE MOAT WITH AT LEAST 10 FEET OF TERRAIN. THE FORMER AUSTRIAN MOAT HAD TO BE MORE OR LESS 20 FEET DEEP, SO IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE FOR THE ENEMY TO JUST JUMP DOWN TO ATTACK THE BASTION, THEY HAD TO WENT DOWN WITH ROPES OR LADDERS, SO THEY WERE FORCED TO SLOW DOWN.

IN SOME CASES THE SPACES OF THE BASTION ARE FULL OF TERRAIN AND DEBRIS BROUGHT BY FLOODS AND RAIN, AS CAN BE SEEN BY OBSERVING SOME LOOPHOLES, WHICH ARE NOW AT THE GROUND LEVEL. IT’S NOT EASY TO CLEAR THESE TIGHT SPACES, BECAUSE HERE YOU CAN USE ONLY SHOVELS AND WHEELBARROWS TO REMOVE THE DEBRIS

TO KEEP THIS SPOT SAFE THE AUSTRIANS DEVISED A SERIES OF INNOVATIVE SYSTEMS: A TUNNEL WITH RIFLEMEN ON THE SIDE OF THE PONTARA, A T-SHAPED TUNNEL TO SHOOT IN FRONT OF THOSE WHO WENT DOWN INTO THE PONTARA, PLUS ANOTHER TUNNEL ABOVE THE ONE WHERE WE ARE NOW, SO THERE ARE TWO ORDERS OF RIFLEMEN ON THE SIDE OF THE PONTARA.

THE BEAUTIFUL SPIRAL STAIRCASE CLIMBS CLOCKWISE AND THE WIDE PART OF THE STEPS IS ON THE LEFT. THUS TO FACILITATE THE SOLDIERS TO CLIMB UP THE STRAIRCASE QUICKLY DURING ASSAULTS BECAUSE IN MOST CASES THEY WERE RIGHT HANDED SO THEY HAD THE RIFLE ON THE RIGHT SHOULDER. DON’T FORGET THAT AT THE TIME THE RIFLES WERE BULKY AND COULD BE UP TO 7 FEET LONG!

THE UPPER GALLERY IS A VERY SHORT GALLERY, IT’S ABOUT 130 FEET LONG. THIS ONE AND THE GALLERY ABOVE ALLOWED THE SOLDIERS TO PERFECTLY DEFEND THE PONTARA. SINCE WE ARE ON THE UPPER GALLERY THE LOOPHOLES HERE ARE ALMOST VERTICAL BECAUSE THE SOLDIERS HAD TO SHOOT DOWNWARDS. ON THE LEFT THERE IS A WINDOW OPENED TO ALLOW THE AIR STREAM BECAUSE THE RIFLES PRODUCED A HEAVY AND DENSE SMOKE THAT COULD BURN THE PULMONARY MUCOUS MEMBRANES.

THE AUSTRIAN ENGINEERS DESIGNED A SPECIAL ROOM WITH LOOPHOLES FOR RIFLEMES ON THREE SIDES, SO THAT IF THE ENEMY HAD ATTACKED HE WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A LETHAL TRAP. ONCE YOU GET THERE THERE IS NO CHANCE TO GET OUT ALIVE!

RIGHT HERE LIVED THE KEEPERS OF THE OPEN-AIR MOVIE THEATRE SET UP IN 1945 IN THE COURTYARD OF THE BASTION, AS WELL AS THE BALLROOM CALLED "IL GRILLO". THAT WAS THE WAY OF THE CITIZEN OF VERONA TO COME BACK TO LIFE AND TRY TO FORGET THE DIFFICULT TIMES OF THE WAR