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Rifugio Viola's history





When all began

A hiker visiting Rifugio Viola will surely notice the strange and atypical form of the hut. The reason for this structure comes from history: in the past it has been a military fortress built for the Finance Police, a few years before the First World War.

During World War I it had only a monitoring and border control role with neighboring Switzerland, but the fortress never took an active part in the war.

The house has maintained this role since the 1950s. After that, it was abandoned and soon became home to hunters and shepherds. The owner was nobody, so unfortunately a lot of vandalism has been done in these years.

Marco Fraquelli was a mountain lover and a regular hiker of the valley and he soon understood the importance that the area could have for tourism. In 1972 he bought the ruin and with the help and efforts of his family changed the role of the fortress in a mountain hut, which we now call Rifugio Viola.

FORT, BARRACKS, HUT: THE HISTORY OF RIFUGIO VIOLA

Our book

2023 was a very important year for us. After years of research, we have finally managed to find all the historical material regarding the Refuge, its construction and its military importance during the First World War and the years of smuggling.

In this small manuscript, we have reported period photographs, documents and testimonies of the financiers who served in the Val Viola barracks. In the book you will also find legends and curiosities about the valley. We also wanted to dedicate a few pages to the father of the Rifugio Viola: Marco.

In the 1970’s he was a pioneer of tourism in Valdidentro. He rescued the old and ruined station, from abandonment and decay, transforming it with passion and sacrifice into what is now known as Rifugio Viola. The book is dedicated to him, and also to all our guests, which have been coming to visit us for many years, making us proud of the project in which grandfather Marco put his heart more than 50 years ago.

You can buy the book at the hut during summer (just Italian version available).

curiosità del rifugio viola
curiosità del rifugio viola

CURIOSITY

Italian hut bombed by mistake at 2000 meters


It was the 6th November 1985 and Marco Fraquelli and his son Aldo were doing some usual works at Rifugio Viola when they heard a strange hiss similar to a plane crossing the sky at a low altitude.

They didn’t pay lot of attention to the situation because it seemed to be nothing strange. But the hiss was becoming closer and closer. When they went out of the hut they soon understood what was happening.

The Swiss militaries were doing some exercises in Val di Campo, a bit beyond Viola Pass, but they took the wrong trajectory and bombed by mistake the Val Viola, instead of the Swiss territory.

24 mortar shot had been launched by mistake in Italy.

Immediately Marco and his son Aldo contacted the police to let them know what was happening in Val Viola. Luckily just them were there in the valley and no one has been hurt. Below some pictures of the main journals speaking about the fact (with bad consequences in tourism for years!).

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CONTACT US

RifugioViola

Val Viola - 23038 Valdidentro (SO)
mobile. +39 348 3419794 
info@rifugioviola.it

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