The book on the brink of Paolo Volpato photos Historical Archive Dal Molin

The book on the edge of the abyss by Paul Vardhan with photos from the Archivio Storico Dal Molin

• Title Sull'Orlo Abyss
• Subtitle Asiago plateau: Cornone-Sasso Rosso-Monte San Francesco
• 224 Pages
• Cover price € 21,50
• Publishing House Itinera Projects
• Author (s) Paul Volpato (author and photos)
• Publication Date 2013
• ISBN 10 8888542522
• ISBN 13 978-8888542522
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Theseven Municipalities Plateau, that I never get tired to travel far and wide, a surprise every time reserve. It may be a forest, ravine, an old church, a trench, a mountain, a cavern, nothing leaves me indifferent, even feeds a continuous research that is well know, understand, interpret, disseminate.

And not always follow and should follow, however strongly evocative, the same places – now famous, also known by the general public visitors and not just by fans of the great war -for facing history.

Indeed, sometimes where the mountain or subalpine vegetation took after decades over and restored life to a nature equally enchanted and unexplored, even in the depths of the plateau are hiding stories equally exciting and amazing to just figure them.

And it is no coincidence if on these places less famous hovers the Abed, stealthy moves the Roebuck, sniffs the airbear. Or the men themselves climb skyward, in eternal struggle with oneself, alla ricerca del limite.

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Land sheer walls that plunge into the Val Brenta, above which marks the eastern limit of the plateau, viewed for a year hundreds of European soldiers live and fight in a stone cone became a gigantic human Termite Mound. On St. Francis, on Cornone, in Red Stone, but also in the deep canyons of the Val is a small, Old Valley and other smaller but even more steep valleys, the Italian soldiers placed a limit on the offensive of Austria-Hungary on the plateau following the withdrawal of Caporetto.

Rocky peaks were nests of Eagles, that at a time of our history played a central role, when theseven Municipalities Plateau it risked leaving the imperial troops a strip of land over which Venetian for three long years had spilled blood and sweat infantrymen, riflemen, artillerymen, but mainly cattle.

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The Alpinencredibili these. Light-hearted, lovers of good wine, not as stunning, but as a means of Union between friends, sometimes maybe over the top, but when it comes to making seriously do not know obstacles, simply ignore them. And go on their way. So it came to pass when they were fighting in the Eastern region of Asiago plateau, a territory that revolves around the dynamic little town of Foza, and for an order of nature looks like a steep overhanging marine abyss on a Valley reached via many side channels that have nothing to envy to the steep walls of the Dolomites.

Could be easier then drop everything, come down from the grim mountains, finding refuge in country cottages, on the plain: a fireplace would have restored confidence, strength, confidence, and some Holy, or the usual "stellone of Italy", he proceeded to save the Italian army, perhaps the war. But you know. As one of cante alpine ... but mountaineers are not afraid!", and then if the decide to hold on with one hand onthe plateau, mountain troops are once again ready to obey, to organize and equip an absurdposition, unable, perhaps indefensible, however not to withdraw.

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Thencredibilmente, against not only the laws of war, but also against the laws of physics and nature, on Cornone, Red Rock, on St. Francis, so on the last strips of Plateau, gli alpini resisted, defended themselves from the onslaught of austro-Hungarian soldiers, even counterattacked.

But they were not the only ones.

In times of the rescue were replaced by infantry and riflemen, not properly trained in mountain warfare, but adapted to the difficult terrain and even more than they did their duty, in a race with emulation the mountain soldiers that threatens to drag the comment in rhetoric.

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This volume will tell and celebrate the battles fought on this ground, handkerchief is not always appreciated by those who attended the seven Municipalities plateau, and along with it the soldiers who lived here for a year at least uncomfortable conditions. And we hope that the reader, despite the lack of appeal of high peaks, legendary invoke rosea dolomite, limestone's most famous Lunar peaks Venetian prealps, is tempted to discover and follow those old border trails from Foza lead from millennia towards the plain, until distant Venice.

Right here, where the man luckily could not intervene with heavy works, you can still perceive the scent of history, slow flowing of time, the power and magic of nature, recovering the natural and reflexive dimension that is not nearly as modern man.