Passo Palade Bunker

The Palade Pass, at 1,518 metres, marked the border between South Tyrol and the Trentino for two decades from 1927, until the Upper Val di Non area was annexed to South Tyrol, moving the border slightly south to Senale. In the 1940s, the Italian military built one of South Tyrol's largest bunker complexes here as part of the Alpine Wall. This impressive construction was never completed and remained unused. Since 2010, the 1.5-kilometre-long Gampen Bunker, now a museum within the former defensive wall, has been partially accessible.

The Gampen Gallery at the entrance offers a captivating glimpse into the history and development of the road over the Passo Palade mountain pass. Built between 1935 and 1939, the pass road is a remarkable feat of engineering and remains an important transport route and popular panoramic road to this day. It was opened on 10 June 1939. Illuminated black and white photographs in the dark tunnel create a unique atmosphere.

Afterwards, one of the long galleries houses South Tyrol's largest mineral exhibition. Amidst the rock, fourty display cases present 2,500 exhibits gathered from all over Europe by mineral collector Toni Kiem. There is also a Bunker Museum - run by the Upper Val Pusteria association Pro Historia - in Dobbiaco in the Upper Val Pusteria, located in another Alpine Wall bunker.

How to get there: You can reach the Passo Palade Bunker (Gampen Bunker) via the Palade Pass road from Tesimo. Parking and a bus stop (route 246 Lana-San Felice) are located directly at the bunker, about 100 metres beyond the pass summit sign on the left-hand side in Senale.