Show tarm k Y M t j 4 F av L AA italian artillery observatory in the dolomites Dolo prepared Prep ered by the natio national all agop hlo society biety washington D C brenner pass one of tho the T TUB best and lowest over the alps between italy and central HUT europe has become because ot of speeches in the italian and german parliaments the storm center of european politics across this pass runs the revised boundary between italy and austria revised by force of arms arma during the world war north ot of it lies the austrian tyrol south lies what the austrians Aust lans rians called southern tyrol but the italians had another name for it the trentino and looked upon it through the years of austrian control as the most important part of italia unredeemed italy it was wag chiefly in ili the hope of redeeming Trent trentino lito that italy went into the war on the side of the ill allies fles the brenner Is one of Eu Hu ropes passes richest in military history it Is the of the tyrol and the trough through which northern in caslon has fins most regularly regul aily descended upon the lie sunny fields of italy prom from times immemorial the northern tribes have sought the refinements and culture of the he south over this wonderful alpine saddle first in time pirtle among all the gaps in ili the he rugged alpine defenses against the north and a why way which has echoed to the dying cries of warriors and the clashing ments of myriad roman legions and to the noisy disorder of the passage of ninny many through more than 2000 bears ears of restless history innsbruck Inns bruck the austrian tyrolean cap capital ilal is fit at the northern terminus tei minus of tills this way while balzano bolzano the aus called it hozen if Is the latin metropolis near the southern end innsbruck Inns bruck Is of the northland surrounded by plums apples and fir trees and bolzano balzano Bol zano like the rest of italy to the south Is in the midst of a region of vines figs and olives bolzano balzano lies feet lower than the summit of the pass full of history historic points crowd one another along the brenner many a barbarian tribe has come this way in search of the ease and plenty of the mild climates beyond and many roman legions have sought the wild tribes in their homm homes over the saddle of the brenner Gulde stones of the time of Ca and septimous mius serveria Ser verua verus have been found burled buried here some of the worlds greatest generals have traveled this path north and south memories of 2000 years of stirring happenings fill the pass with ro romantic m an interest for the tourist who goes this way by carriage or on foot A splendid roadway crosses the pass as also one of the most important ra rall 11 way lines in europe a wonderful m masterpiece as ter piece of engineering skill over which in peace times careless tourists from the north speed through t the he pass at 30 miles an hour to verona venice and palermo the fact that the trentino between brenner and the late italian border to the south has become ital italia redenta since the victorious northward push of the italian armies and the signing of the peace treaties has n not ot altogether solved the problem always created when two peoples of divergent culture must live together nor has the shifting of the international border a number of miles to the north ward greatly altered the attitudes of ae the hereditary enemies whose lands it divides tile the trentino region has had a more mora checkered career even than alsace lorraine civilized by the romans komans and made a province of the empire to which the italians love to feel they have fallen heir the district remained under one or another form of roman italian or lombard control until 1027 when it wits was severed from italy and given into the hands of prince bishops of trent under more or less nominal german control in 1803 the country became austrian in ISM 1605 bavarian the french under napoleon captured it in 1800 and held it until 1814 when it was again handed over to austria it remained austrian until italis soldiers redeemed it during the world war during daring all ail these vicissitudes tow ever ver the italian ian language guage and italian culture persisted with especial tenacity of course in the south toward the nominal italian border that border dipped far south of the crest of the alpesto enclose the in the austrian empire crossing crossin valleys catger and running along hills rather than mountains where two cultures conflicted d tyrol north of the alps was ger manici zed early but the mountain barrier slowed up the lie southern advance of german culture despite direct germanic control for a century and german influence for a much longer period the trentino was appreciably only in the extreme north in bolzano balzano bozen boen to the hie austrians Aust lans rians forty miles south of 0 f the he main ridge of the alps in the abige adige valley there was waa an obvious conflict between the two cultures the streets streeta and squares bore german names and the store signs german characters the slim steeple of the parish church was undeniably gothge but though one of file principal streets bore the name the graceful arches of its hi arcaded sides proclaimed italy and the trade in their shadows was largely on in it italian south from bolgano bolzano german influence carried on a to lo ing fight trento called by the trient and by 17 the english trent tient thirty miles farther south and almost an equal distance within the austrian horder bonier was all but an acknowledged city there was practically no touch of german architecture thorp no camouflage of german names it was tind and Is a city of medieval italian itell in P pl il nep like many of its sister ties of the Lorn lombard bard plain and its streets bore cie romance Ilo crimps they and borne through the centuries the german language wits was rarely heard beard except in military orders ord rs and its unfamiliar letters appe ed only now and then below in italian most conspicuous of the german touches perhaps was that contributed by the quaintly garbed austrian sol diers the xer with their jaunty plumed hats bats the note they hey truck in trento was obviously allen alien and their plumes even were not so jaunty as those of the nho ho now stand guard among their own people valleys valley and the dolomites dolomite the trentino sloping to the south receives it flood of light and warmth which the region north of the alps cannot know just jurt its as german culture became less and less influential to the south of the alpine divide so the pines and firs of central europe dwindle away until not far south of bolzano balzano they have disappeared the slopes and peaks and cliffs of southern trentino are largely bare and the climate Is warm but the valley floors are carpeted with grasses and plants of luxuriant growth and in then them grow grapes from which excellent wine la Is roade made eastern trentino contains the major part of the picturesque dolomite alps one of the scenic leccas of europe unlike the other mountains of the alps the dolomites are formed of raised beds of limestone with their upper tipper portions port long bare crags worn into towering pinnacles acles and fantastic forms by weather they differ striking ly from the more familiar mountains of switzerland as aa well as from the other tyrolean and trentino alps the great rock mosses masses of the dolomites are a light ashen gray but here ind and there various minerals have painted them with splotches of orange red and violet bathed in the rays of the rising or setting getting sun in fine weather their pinnacles become the spires of rainbow hued fairy palaces and glided pleasure domes his as xanadu might boast much fighting took place in this region during the war unbelievably heavy guns were hauled to the crests of peaks that mountain climbers had difficulty in reaching in the years when this country was given up la in summer to tourists across deep valleys these huge engines of destruction thundered at each other as step by step the italians drove the Aust austrian rians back many a tingle single combat wu was waged on narrow rock ledges thousands of feet above the valley floors floor |