One of Italy’s most important vestiges of the World Wars, Forte Montecchio Nord offers a fascinating glimpse into the histories of WWI and WWII. Take in sweeping views of the lake and surrounding mountains, and visit the fort’s interiors and its four fully functional rotating French 149-mm guns. Each is set beneath a cast-iron dome and has a range of more than 8 miles (13 kilometers).
Tour one of Europe’s best-preserved artillery forts by purchasing a skip-the-line ticket in advance. A fort visit can be paired with a Lake Como day trip, or a tour from Milan that includes stops at Villa d'Este, Villa Erba, and Monte Rosa.
Expect to walk a lot at the fort.
The fort isn’t accessible to wheelchairs and strollers.
Located on the northern banks of Lake Como in Colico, the fort is accessible by car from Lugano and Como, and by car or train from Milan, Lecco, and Sondrio. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the fort from the Colico train station.
The weather on Lake Como can be gruelingly cold in winter. Ideally, time your fort visit for the warmer summer months.
Forte Montecchio Nord was a defensive fort, built at the beginning of WWI to ward off invasions of Italy from the north. At the end of WWII, the fort stopped Mussolini’s troops from firing on the opposite bank of Lake Como. The last artillery rounds shot in Italy during WWII came from the fort’s Schneider guns on April 28, 1945.