THE LAND DEFENCE – ENTRACHED CAMP OF MESTRE

Starting from the beginning of the nineteenth century, as a consequence of the fall of the Republic of Venice and of the technological development of the artilleries, the new governors decided to develop also towards the mainland some defence systems of the lagoon city. Between 1805 and 1814 the Austrian and French have completed fort Marghera and its two appendages, fort Rizzardi and fort Manin.

With the inclusion of the Veneto region in the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, the land defence system is widen in the direction of what will become the “Campo trincerato di Mestre”; between the last years of the nineteenth century and the first years of the twenty century two lines of defence with radial arrangements around fort Marghera were defined , composed by three Tunkler type forts , six Rocchi type forts and a duty powder magazine built at the borders of the lagoon.

The renewed entrenched camp of Mestre was completed in 1912 and in practice it was already disarmed in 1915 when, just after the beginning of the war, it was considered necessary to de-install the weaponry because similar fortalice (fort Verena, in the Altopiano di Asiago) appeared as inadequate in a conflict with heavy artillery.