Spring is upon us, and with it the perfect opportunity to put on your hiking boots and discover the Liberation Route Europe hiking trails. The perfect companion along the way is the LRE App, which offers a deep and diverse way to experience the history of the Second World War. With the App you can create your own personalized journey by connecting sites, stories and audio spots that interest you most. Furthermore, you have access to our ready-to-walk trails throughout Europe.

Altavilla Silentina is present in the Liberation Route Europe routes as a nodal point in the history of liberation. Although little known in the chronicles and subsequent historiography, the battle that took place on the hills on which the town stands was among the most important from a strategic and military point of view. From the highest elevation in the territory, which reaches the now symbolic “Height 424”, enemy maneuver could be controlled and this was fundamental for the defensive operations of the German troops. The hand-to-hand fighting between German and American troops continued until the ammunition ran out.

On 15 September the hill and the village were subjected to a naval bombardment which caused much damage to the population already damaged by the fighting of the previous days. When the fighting ended, there were over two hundred German and American losses in that area, in a period of about seven days. The monument, dedicated to the fallen in those battles, stands next to a small votive shrine that already existed before those events.

Today “Quota 424” is part of a large landscape, dotted with crops, orchards and isolated farms that characterizes the territories that open up between the districts of Pagliara and Campo Fiorito. Once you reach the crossroads with the state road n. 19 of Calabrie you can continue north along the latter until you reach the tortuous bridge over the Sele river, a very important strategic point for the outcome of the battle of those days.

Altavilla SIlentina “Quota424” link to LRE website

https://www.liberationroute.com/it/pois/1228/memorial-at-quota-424