Monti Lessini - a solitary mountain massif that stretches between the city of Verona and the famous Pasubio. Many more farmers used to live here. They utilised the Mediterranean climate of the southern foothills of the Alps. But after the Second World War, many migrated to the cities of the Po Valley. When I was ten years old, I went hiking in this area with my parents. Back then, the paths led through chin-high stinging nettle thickets, at least for me. On the way, we came across abandoned houses, some of which were still furnished. It was as if they had been abandoned in a hurry. I remember being very impressed by it all and really wanting to come back here again.
Twenty years later, the time has finally come. After a lot of research, I found out that a dense network of paths from the First World War existed in the Lessini. A defensive line ran over the highest mountain in the region, the Carega, which would have been extremely important if the Pasubio had fallen into Austrian hands. To this day, most of the routes into this deserted mountain world start near Verona. However, the more interesting bike trails are best reached from the Adige Valley. The wide military roads here have largely been tarmaced - only the trails have not.
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