Park 97 - Training camp of Prosecco

An easy itinerary exploring an Austro-Hungarian training camp immersed in the Karst landscape.

Parco 97, located within the Bosco Fornace of Prosecco, is a truly unique open-air museum. It offers visitors the opportunity to explore a lesser-known yet fascinating aspect of the First World War: the training of soldiers arriving from other battlefronts. Here, a military firing range was established, still marked on old cadastral maps, around which cave shelters for troops were built during the war. After passing Grotta Priamo — once used as a wartime shelter and still preserving remarkable structures both inside and outside — the trail continues alongside the stone embankments originally created to stop bullets fired towards the targets of the shooting range. Continuing along the route and turning right, visitors join CAI trail 19 leading to the training trench: a real trench built by the soldiers themselves, who later trained there to adapt to the conditions of the new front. Particularly noteworthy are the tracks at the ends of the trench, bordered by stones simulating approach communication trenches. The trench, carved directly into the rock, faces another defensive position built with dry-stone walls.
Finally, after the trail turns right, a short detour leads to the Grotta del Bersaglio Militare and the remains of a former guard hut. The cave is reached by following a staircase carved into the rock, descending into the cavity illuminated by an opening created after part of the vault collapsed. From here, visitors return to the last junction before continuing along CAI trail 1 back to the starting parking area.

Author's tip

It is recommended to combine the excursion with a visit to the Austro-Hungarian cemetery of Prosecco.