FORT MONTE BUROTO

 

 

Coming from Savona, to the left and just past Tagliata di Altare, it is necessary to take the same military road taken to get to Altare. In order to reach Fort Monte Burot you must follow this unpaved route, paying attention to the various intersections. The original road can be recognized by the signs of cobbled paving. The building takes up part of the peak of the mountain of the same name, and is situated next to some very visible relays. To the right of these you must follow an entrenched slope, which, once a torn off  gate is passed, leads to the entrance of the building. In a polygonal design, the building is completely surrounded by a protective moat with two double caponiers, which can be reached from the inside of the building by tunnels.  The inside can be reached by passing through the original door, and by a tottering wooden horizontal  sliding  bridge, (situated after the door), which is now blocked in order to permit access. Among the dusty bricks, in the room beside the entrance, the ruins of the mechanism  for this anomolous “draw bridge”. The insert which separates the two rooms has been completely c engraved by the soldiers stationed in the Fort.

A large part of the inside of the Fort has been  taken over by brambles and infesting weeds. Often these weeds can hide dangers, so any eventual reconaissance requires much care.

The building is made up of one-storey barracks, at moat-level, with rooms, connected by a corridor. Unfortunately, the barracks have been corroded by the humidity and water infiltration. The windows, which face the moat, stll have the original grating. At a higher level and separated by a large girder, two opposite firing ordnance for heavy artillery are located. These are connected by a tunnel which passes under the earthwork. Some of the rooms still conserve the original fixtures. A tunnel runs behind the storerooms (with original elements), located under the firing ordnance; in some niches you can still find some traces of the trolleys. At the end of this tunnel there is a rudimentary sink.

The armament was composed of  four 12 GRC (Ret) cannons and just as many 15 GRC (Ret) cannons, located on  open-air  emplacements.

 

 

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