To celebrate the release of the Montello Expansion, we bring you the Montello Cycling Tour! Clear skies and a light breeze not included.

In the Cycling Tour, we'll be exploring the area represented in the Montello map. There's a lot of history to be found here, from the very structures that played a role in this battle to the monuments erected in memory della Grande Guerra. Every friday we'll make a new stop at one of these historic locations until we arrive at our final destination: The Nervesa della Battaglia train station.

We arrive at the second stop of the tour after a short 5 minute cycle through Parrocchia Santa Croce. It gets quite steep here, so I hope you haven't been skipping leg day.

The route on Google Maps[maps.app.goo.gl]Oh and by the way, happy anniversary! Isonzo released exactly 2 years ago, so we'd like to thank you for being here with us! We couldn't have gotten this far with you, and there's plenty more on the way! Now, onto the tour.

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We find ourselves at Monumento Ragazzi del '99 in Santa Croce del Montello, a monument dedicated to The Boys of '99. These kids got their call for conscription in 1916 at the age of 17 and sent to the front lines in 1917 once they reached the age of 18.


The first group of 80,000 conscripts was called upon in first 4 months of 1917. Upon arrival, they were hastily prepared for war and merged into the front lines along the Piave in November 1917, shorty after the losses in the Battle of Caporetto in October. Earlier that year in May, another group of 180,000 teenagers was called, with a smaller group later in July.

Source[www.latuaetruria.it]The end of 1917 was a time of desperation for the Italian Army, as the Battle of Caporetto was a costly defeat and both the German and Austro-Hungarian forces were gaining ground. The Italians managed to prop up their ranks at the Piave, Grappa and Montello with the fresh, but inexperienced Boys of '99. These new numbers helped with the landslide victory in the Second Battle of the Piave River in June 1918 and allowed for a large scale counter-offensive in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, the Italian victory that ended the war on the Italian front in November 1918 and contributed to the end of WW1 just one week later.

In many places you'll find references to the Boys of '99, from a statue and park in Bassano del Grappa to a viaduct in Gorizia and a plaque in Milan. The last person of the Boys of '99 to remain was Giovanni Antonio Carta, who was born in December 1899 and passed away in June 2007.

Statue Ragazzi del '99 in Bassano del Grappa
The monument itself features a large holy cross (Santa Croce), a statue of one of the Boys of '99 holding a flag pole, a second statue representing the mothers of the kids, as well as two field guns. There's a large plaque in honor of "The Heroes of Montello", awarding medals of Military Valor in memory of a number of soldiers. General Giuseppe Vaccari is also highlighted for his command over the XXII corps, which played an integral part in the victory in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto,

Source[catalogo.beniculturali.it]Three times a day, the church back in Santa Croce plays La Leggenda del Piave, a patriotic song about the Italian victory in the Second Battle of the Piave River. You can listen to the song below!

There's a small local history museum near the monument with a complete historical archive of the Ragazzi del '99, but this can only be visited on request.


In Isonzo, you may recognize "Ragazzi del '99" from the achievement with the same name. It requires you to win 10 matches as a Defender, in honor of the role the Boys of '99 had in halting the Central Powers' advance and pushing them back out of Italy.


Next time, we'll head further south in the direction of Nervesa della Battaglia. It's about an 18 minute cycle with some elevation. Our stop next week is the Monumento a Francesco Baracca. See you there!

The route on Google Maps[maps.app.goo.gl]

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The Montello Cycling Tour is a collaboration with local organizations. We'd like to thank them for helping us out with information about the region, the history and photos they provided. If you're interested in visiting the area, please check them out and tell them we sent you!

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