Description

This hike reaches, from the village of Imèr, the First World War Italian location of Morósna, located high on one of the mountains just above the village. It then visited the Vedèrna alpine pastures. Alpe Vederna has always been and still is an important destination for Imèr and its inhabitants; in the history because of the summer pastures and forest, nowadays as a place to relax and to disconnect from the daily routine.

Our walk begins just outside the village of Imèr, in Villaggio Sass Maor (Cappuccetto Rosso) and immediately start to climb the steep slope of Mt. Vedèrna, south of Primiero Valley. From the parking place take the road that goes uphill and goes through some houses before making a turn and going, still steep uphill, into the forest. Some hundreds meters along this road, you find a crossroads, going left, with signs indicating Croce degli Alpini (the big cross you can see on Mt. Vedèrna) and Stoli di Morosna. Italian flags and red signs are mixed in this first part of the path. After a bit of climbing, there is another fork in the path, one going left towards the cross (we leave that for yet another hike) and our path, going straight along the slope of the mountain. Continuing to go uphill, the path proceeds in the forest, with some beautiful view over the southern part of Primiero and also Pale di San Martino. There is just a 15m wire along the way to help in the steepest passage, but no need for specific equipment at all.

After our long uphill hike (don’t worry, your effort will be rewarded!) we reach the meadows of Morosna, nowadays used as grazing land in the summer. Here you can visit the Stoli, galleries used as military outpost and other location of the First World War, see a detailed description below.

From Morosna our way proceeds towards Alpe Vederna, on a well marked unpaved road that goes slightly uphill for some meters before entering the forest and starting our downhill walk. In about 3km you reach Alpe Vederna, where you can visit a beautiful small church and stop to rest at Rifugio Vederna, bar and restaurant open in the summer.

From Alpe Vederna we take the main road to get back to the village of Imèr, always following the red/white signs that you can find on every juncture of the roads. the way from here is constantly downhill and partly paved, be careful of the steep slopes and watch your steps!

Paths

• From Imèr (Loc. Cappuccetto Rosso), follow the old military road to Vederna,
• 500m after starting the climb, take the path  on the right side to “Stoli” Morosna / Croce degli Alpini,
• Follow the signs leading to “Stoli” Morosna until the military outposts and then Maso Morosna,
• From Maso Morosna follow the road to Vedèrna,
• From Vedèrna pastures, take the military road (signpost No. E736) leading back to Imèr. ✓

WWI INSTALLATIONS OF MORÓSNA

• The two main tunnels (Stóli) are illuminated, just turn the light on with the switches you find as you enter. From here you can have a fantastic lookout post. This were used as a backup place by the Italian army, to defend the territory in case that Germany could open a breach in the advanced position on the Lagorai mountains. The war was never directly fought here, but the army and some staff lived here for 2 to 3 years during the WWI.
• Above the Stóli, worth a visit is the Osservatorio, lookout place where some cannons were placed; right 50 m behind these, you can still see the trenches used by the soldiers and a big field which was inhabited during the Great War.

ALPE VEDÈRNA

• With the characteristic plateau called Pian Grand (tr. big plateau) at 1,330 mt of altitude, Alpe Vedèrna with its pastures has been historically the main reserve of hay for the livestock of the Primiero Valley.
• Alpe Vederna is governed by a self-standing authority, called Consorzio Vederna. This institution is one of the few remaining examples of the Maso Chiuso law, where only the firstborn male child of each family would inherit the property, usually a small cottage and the right to use the surrounding land. This rules are surprisingly still effective nowadays and used for allocation of the small mountain huts you will see in the fields of Alpe Vederna.
• At the edge of Pian Grand, the hut named Rifugio Vederna was built in 1970, between the farms and the church dedicated to Madonna della Neve.

References

• Tissot, L. (1996). Dizionario Primierotto. Editore Manfrini.
• Floriano Nicolao, La chiesetta della Madonna della Neve sul monte Vederna, Imèr-Trento, 1998, pag. 11