Ca’ di Julio
One of the bases for the American attack on Riva Ridge
Just before the attack on the Monti della Riva, or Riva Ridge, the American mountain troops of B Company, belonging to the first battalion of the 86th regiment of the 10th Mountain Division, sheltered in the homes of the families of this hamlet, and at Pianacci. On the night of 18 February 1945, the soldiers began the long climb up the steep path to Monte Cappel Buso, guided by local people, some of them former partisans. The summit of Monte Cappel Buso was taken immediately.
A plaque was installed in the private garden overlooking the hamlet in 2001 to commemorate D Company of the 126th Battalion of Mountain Engineers of the 10th Mountain Division, who worked from 19 to 21 February 1945, during the attack, to build the aerial cableway used to send up weapons, supplies and ammunition to the troops fighting on the ridge, and to bring down the dead and injured, The conquest of Riva Ridge was to open the way for the attack on Monte Belvedere.
