Welcome to SP!  -
Pizzo di Levico

Pizzo di Levico

Pizzo di Levico

Page Type: Mountain/Rock

Location: Trento, Italy, Europe

Lat/Lon: 45.97871°N / 11.34253°E

Object Title: Pizzo di Levico

Activities: Hiking

Season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Elevation: 6260 ft / 1908 m


Page By: Fausto Carlevaris

Created/Edited: Jun 16, 2006 / Oct 19, 2006

Object ID: 200840

Hits: 3676 

Page Score: 78.27%  - 9 Votes 

Vote: Log in to vote



Really elementary, the Pizzo di Levico (called Cima Vezzena locally) offers one seen exceptional towards north, that is towards the Valsugana with its below lakesof Caldonazzo and Levico and towards mountains more to north, to begin from the Lagorai Group also know as Lagorai-Cima d'Asta Group. Towards south the panorama that is embraces instead plateaus of the pre-Alps of Veneto and (from east to the west) the Altopiano di Asiago, furrows of the Valdastico valley, the plateau of Lavarone and Folgaria and the subgroups that they knit the pre-Alps of Veneto to go them of the Adige: the subgroup of the Vigolana, the saddleback or step of Vigolo Vattaro and at last (just over to Trento) the small subgroup called Marzola, that separates the city of Trento from the lakes of Caldonazzo and Levico. They are landscapedly much interesting places and marks to you in depth from the vicissitudes of the first world war.

Getting There

Getting there
•By car from Trento: abandon the freeway A22 del Brennero at the Trento Centro escape; then follow the indications for Padova-Venezia and to take SS 47 of the Valsugana; continue on SS 47 until the escape for Altipiani di Folgaria and Lavarone. Then follow the indications for Monterovere here. Joints shortly to the locality "la Vedova" (Restaurant and horse-center) the road shrinks and knows them steeply. Joints in Monterovere locality we take on the left in direction Passo Vezzena, than it catches up (bar-restaurant-hotel and parking fastly). For the street distance Levico/Santa Giuliana-Passo Vezzena see the distance proposed from ViaMichelin for the feature Levico-Passo Vezzena. If you have a GPS navigator set up as arrival point Passo Vezzena or Passo di Vezzena.
•By car from Bassano del Grappa: from Bassano del Grappa to Passo Vezzena it convene to follow the route advised from ViaMichelin through the Altipiano di Asiago (called also Altipiano dei Sette Comuni). On navigators GPS set up as arrival point Passo Vezzena or Passo di Vezzena.
•By train from Trento: to come down to the Caldonazzo station of the railway line Trento-Venezia. For the railway timetables to see the situated one of italian national railroad service Trenitalia-italiano (or Trenitalia-english) and for the net of local connections on rubber to see the situated one TrentinoTrasporti.
•By train from Bassano del Grappa: this access is recommended for who is approached from Venice, Padova, Treviso and from the east-Valle Padana. For the timetables of the railroad see over.

Hiking route

Map of the zone
On foot from Passo Vezzena (mt. 1404). In proximity of the hotel begins the asphalted road (sluice to the traffic!) reserved to the workers of the numerous mountain barns of the zone. To continue on foot therefore or in bicycle. After 600 meters the Fort of Busa Verle is caught up.
The path continues, on road always asphalted (possibility to cut for the grass ones) until catching up, on the left, the white and red marks of the SAT (=Alpine Club of Trentino) from where path 205 knows them steep in the forest in order to catch up the top of the Pizzo di Levico. It is the more direct path, but also that steepest one. Calm tourists and hikers can instead follow the asphalted road, than more ahead curve on the left (omitting the forest road that is detached little on the right) and after curve to right. In proximity of such curve, on the left begins the old military road that catches up the Pizzo di Levico (identifying trust); the asphalted road is abandoned therefore in order to follow such dirt road who earns quota until catching up the rests of the fortification Forte di Cima Vezzena (1h 30' from the Forte di Busa Verle). The rests of the fortification of summit get confused with cliffs of the Pizzo di Levico (called also Cima Vezzena, mt. 1908) on which a metallic cross with summit book is placed and from which a wide panorama can be enjoyed on surrounding mountains with one arrogant sight on below lakes of Caldonazzo and Levico. The top the Pizzo stays directly over the Valsugana valley and a simple disattenzione can be revealed fatal: pay attention! The return can happen along the same distance, or coming down directly following the marks white and red of path SAT that cuts the military road many times over reaching directly the Forte Busa Verle and then to the Passo Vezzena. Of winter the proposed route can be carried out with the "ciaspole" (=snow raquets), however the absence of whichever shelter or point of support of it limits the distance to the single expert hikers.

Italian version: si parte a piedi dal Passo Vezzena (mt. 1404).  
Pizzo di Levico: viewed from Passo Vezzena
View from south
In prossimità dell'albergo inizia la strada asfaltata (chiusa al traffico veicolare) che porta alle numerose malghe della zona. Proseguire perciò a piedi o in bicicletta. Dopo 600 metri si raggiunge il Forte di Busa Verle. Il percorso prosegue, sempre su strada asfaltata (possibilità di tagliare per i prati) fino a raggiungere, sulla sinistra, il segnale bianco e rosso della SAT (=Società Alpinisti Tridentini) da dove il sentiero 205 sale ripido nel bosco per raggiungere la cima del Pizzo di Levico. E' il percorso più diretto, ma anche quello più ripido. Turisti ed escursionisti tranquilli possono invece seguire la strada asfaltata, che più avanti curva a sinistra (tralasciare la strada forestale che si stacca sulla destra) e poco dopo curva a destra. In prossimità di tale curva, sulla sinistra inizia la vecchia strada militare che raggiunge il Pizzo di Levico (cartello segnaletico); si abbandona perciò la strada asfaltata per seguire tale strada bianca che guadagna quota fino a raggiungere i ruderi del Forte di Cima Vezzena (1h 30' dal Forte di Busa Verle).
I ruderi del forte di vetta si confondono con le rocce del Pizzo di Levico (chiamato anche Cima Vezzena, mt. 1908) su cui è posta una Croce metallica con libro di vetta e da cui si può godere un ampio panorama sulle montagne circostanti con una superba vista sui sottostanti laghi di Caldonazzo e di Levico. La cima del Pizzo di Levico è strapiombante sulla Valsugana ed una semplice disattenzione si può rivelare fatale: fare attenzione!
Il ritorno può avvenire lungo lo stesso percorso, oppure scendendo direttamente seguendo i segnali bianchi e rossi sui sassi e sugli alberi del sentiero SAT che taglia più volte la strada militare giungendo direttamente al Forte Busa Verle e poi al Passo Vezzena.
D'inverno l'itinerario proposto può essere effettuato con le ciaspole, tuttavia l'assenza di qualsiasi rifugio o punto di appoggio ne limita la percorrenza ai soli escursionisti esperti.

Summit panorama

Panorama Nord-West
north-west summit panorama

NW from left to right (with inner links to SP):
VigolanaBondoneCarè AltoAdamelloMarzolaCima TosaCima Brenta •Paganella •Calisio • Cime di Vigo

Panorama south
south summit panorama

S from left to right (with inner links to SP):
Cima Manderiolo •Altopiano di Asiago •Spitz Tonezza •Passo Vezzena •Monte Toraro •Gruppo del Pasubio

Panorama north-east
north-east summit panorama

N-E from left to right (with inner links to SP):
Gronlait and Fravort •Monte Cola •Lagorai •Cima d'Asta •Cimon Rava •Monte Tauro •Pale di San Martino •Armentera

Red tape

•The asphalted narrow lane that from Passo Vezzena goes to north in direction of the Pizzo di Levico is sluice to the private automotive traffic and serves solo as road of service for who works to mountain barns of the zone.
•The automobile goes parked to the Step of Vezzena! The road is instead liberations percorribile on foot or in bicycle.

Maps and books

•Advised cartography: Kompass 631 (Altipiani di Folgaria, Lavarone e Luserna) 1:25.000
•Books: for news wide and deepened on the course of the forehead and the military operations in the zone is indispensable to refer to the historical work of Walther Schaumann: "La grande guerra 1915-18, Volume 3 - Prealpi Venete e Trentine", Ghedina & Tassotti Publisher Limited, Bassano del Grappa (Italia), 1984 (this is the italian version of the original “Schauplaetze des 3 Gebirgskrieges - Oestliche Dolomiten, Sexten, Cortina di Ampezzo”. Colonel W. Schaumann also has founded the association Friends of the Dolomiti that has cured the risistemazione of trenches and distances of war.
•History: numerous historical references to the war operations of the first world war are available into the multimedia encyclopedia Wikipedia. We have chosen this only external link one because the reperibile material in the WEB is truly too much wide. The various national versions of Wikipedia concur to form a picture of the facts to my opinion enough objective. See the the italian, english and german version.
local tourist office
local mountain meteo

Notices on the fort of Pizzo di Levico

The fort of Pizzo di Levico (in German Werk Spitz Verle) for its strategic position was called to the time of the first world war "the eye of plateaus". It was in fact an strong-observatory of the austro-hungarian artillery. It controlled the depositor south towards Asiago and the depositor north of the Valsugana valley until the brace of the forts of Tenna and of Col delle Benne (close to Levico) that they made part of the defensive system of the city of Trento. Situated on the edge of a precipice, it was constructed from 1907 to 1915 and came armed with light artillery and machine-guns for the own defense. It was connected by telephone with the Monterovere locality, center of the Military Commando of Austro-hungarian zone. Since the first days of war it was subject to intense strafings from part of the italian army. Acquired from the community of Levico in 1933, currently it covers remarkable interest above all for its dared position and the panorama that is enjoyed from its top. On the roof of the fort, that it coincides with the top of the Pizzo di Levico, in the years fifty the SAT of Levico (alpin club of Levico) has placed one great metallic cross, very visible from the Valsugana valley. The fort is one construction in concrete and originally disposed reinforced concrete on three plans, equipped of underground caverns and watertight cells in order to conserve ammunitions. It was encircled from a ditch gained in the cliff that designed a horse iron and was deep approximately 5 m. and wide until 8 m.. It had an inserted trapezial plant in an artificial cliff throat protect from tightened bands of reticulates to you. Armament: 1 gun from 80 milimeter M.9 and 5 machine-guns. The main war operation was the Battle of Asiago (in english) or Battaglia degli Altipiani (in italian).