The Spooky Army Barracks Of Banne: Bleakness In The Heart Of Carso

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by Alessandra Ressa

Crumbling buildings without doors nor windows, collapsed roofs, piles of rubble engulfed in wild bushes and ivy, the abandoned Army barracks of Banne, known as Caserma Monte Cimone, is probably one of the spookiest sites in Trieste.

Located in the heart of Carso, not far from the popular hiking trails between Conconello and Banne, with its 200,000 square meters and over 30 buildings, it is a vast no man’s land where time and neglect have created the perfect, if unsafe, set for a horror film.

Easily accessible from the trails, for years it has been the undisturbed destination of vagrants and graffiti writers, the metal gate and watchtowers standing like ghosts in perpetual memory of the past. The area has also recently become the favorite spot for war games and  soft air club members, with dozens of Triestini, including children, dressed in fatigues, bulletproof vests, helmets, toy revolvers and machine guns, simulating war amidst the devastated buildings. Although formally illegal to access the premises, people continue to enthusiastically do so at their own risk.

The barracks were formally shut down by the Italian Army in 1995. This was common use back then as military service in Italy had become no longer mandatory and the Cold War had come to an end. The State property  was then passed on to the local administration, which, in the past few decades launched a series of projects for its reutilization, none of which ever carried forward. Among them, a retirement complex for the elderly, a much opposed refugee camp, a sports center, a jail and even a pet cemetery.  A careful look at the main buildings, however, reveals that the barracks are much older, over one hundred years, and even before they were built, the property had its own peculiar Triestino history.

The property dates back to the early 1800s. It belonged to a rich and influential Trieste family, the Burgstaller-Bidischini. Over the hilly part of the area, then mostly void of trees, the couple built a grand villa overlooking the vast possessions, which included exclusive vineyards.

Giuseppe Burgstaller-Bidischini was a popular local politician under the Austrian rule of the city. He was head of the Trieste Woods Commission and had hundreds of thousands of trees planted in Carso, turning  bare, rocky land into the cool woods we enjoy today. He loved the property and used to spend the summer months there.

In Banne, a new trail, Sentiero Burgstaller-Bidischini, has recently been named after him. It goes from the former army barracks to a beautiful tiny church, the church of San Floriano, the only-standing original building dating back to the family’s ownership of the land. Nearby, you can still see what remains of the original stone entrance to the property.

The Burgstaller-Bidischinis had no children, and when they died the whole property was confiscated by the Austro-Hungarian government  for military purposes. It was the beginning of the Great War. The villa was transformed into the army headquarters and the first barracks were built for the troops. In 1921, Trieste being now part of Italy, the Italian government continued to use the site for military purposes and began to add new buildings. Starting in 1924 and then again in 1933, the site was further expanded and many surviving historical buildings related to the original property were demolished to make room for more barracks. 

The windows of some of the now crumbling buildings have beautiful and very old wrought iron railings. It is believed they belonged to the Burgstaller-Bidischini villa and were later used for the army barracks.

At the end of WWII the Allied Military Government occupied the site. The lovely villa was demolished  to make room for a cinema and theater for the troops. More land was confiscated from local farmers to build storerooms for ammunition. After 1954, when Trieste was once again under the Italian administration, the barracks hosted the 82^nd Infantry division Torino and the 33^rd Artillery Folgore. The last division to occupy the barracks before they were shut down was the 8^th Regiment Pasubio.

 

What does the future hold for this haunting site? The former army barracks of Banne are very unlikely to see a new life. The investment, even if private, would be too disproportionate, the buildings too damaged to be saved, yet their historical value does not allow for total demolition. Carso vegetation will eventually take over the bricks and concrete. Although daring Triestini continue to visit it, there has been another, darker twist in recent years all around the site, a plague that is afflicting many areas in Carso, that of illegal dumping.