In the works of recovery of our historical and natural heritage in our land, in the wombs of our family from the days of yore, Azienda Castello di Rubbia offers guided tours to discover these places in our memories. A breathtaking and fascinating journey that winds through the paths and colors of the woods and will not fail to excite adults and to intrigue children.
We have created customized tour packages with guided visits to the Castello di Rubbia, the vineyard, the monumental area of Monte San Michele with its gunned fortifications of the Great War, the World War II Monument, the Cold War Bunkers and the Natural Carso Cave.
We also have an ample GOURMET OFFER (click here to know more) with visits to the cellar for wine and Carso products tastings (lunches, dinners, private parties on reservation). Space is also available for conferences, exhibitions and concerts.
INFO WINE CELLAR, VISITS AND HOTELS: +39 0481 067616 – mob. +39 349 79 57 889 – info@castellodirubbia.it
Below you can find all the details about our individual spaces.
CASTELLO DI RUBBIA
A castle on the Carso with a rich and intriguing history: the first settlements of the Bronze Age with Neolithic Castles, the Middle Ages and the Legend of the arrival of King Richard “Lionheart” returning from the Crusades, the nobility and the Protestantism with the arrival of Primoz Trubar and the first sermons in Slovenian and Friulian local languages, the Gradiscane Wars in 1615-1618 and the first demolition of the castle, the First World War 1914-1918: the evacuation of the whole community of San Michele del Carso, the destruction of the castle and vineyards, so renowned at the Vienna Court: the return to the Carso, that sense of belonging that conveys the hopes for a slow reconstruction.
The Second World War, the Fear and the Cold War… 1998: Peace and Restoration of the Castle with the replant of only autochthone grape varieties in the vineyards.
THE COLD WAR BUNKERS – A 20-minute walk from the cellar
The Cold War bunkers are part of the works of “Monte San Michele“, located in the village of Cotici in the municipality of Savogna d’Isonzo (GO). They include six gun positions, composed of auxiliary constructions. They were built at the end of the 1960s, in reinforced concrete with the “cut and cover” technique and then buried.
The M4 bunker is a gunned position with four machine gun slots, a thick steel wheel that housed two machine guns: originally a Breda Mod. 37, followed by a MG42/59.
The OCP bunker rises on top of Mount Škofnik, a previous hill to Mount San Michele, strategically dominating the Gorizia threshold, the Vipacco Valley and the Lokvica Plateau. It is an “Observation Command Post” for intercepting and decoding of phone and radio military communications. From the OCP they coordinated the firing of the gunned positions and the defense of the surrounding villages. Two different platoons were assigned to this OCP. It also was a “command post for camped troops” and an artillery observation post equipped with ground surveillance radar, a small size AN/TPS-33, housed in a well with a small elevator that allowed it to be exposed for the strictly necessary time.
The OCP is an underground two-story construction. The core occupies the lower floor, which houses the two commanding posts protected by one semicircular concrete vault. On the upper floor, there are various technical-logistic facilities: a power generator room, a fuel tank, a decontamination station from NBC agents, a plant for air filtering which, together with a system of waterproof doors, made it possible to maintain a positive pressure gradient between the indoor and outdoor areas).
The observatory of the fortification, distinct from that of artillery (so-called “particular”), is housed in a dome of a similar shape to that of the machine gun, but smaller: its “cockpit” is in fact such that it can accommodate a person with a telephone connection with the underground command.
Guided tours are conducted by tour guides in collaboration with the “Bunker San Michele” Committee, which since June 2015, within the Associazione Nazionale Fanti d’Arresto and with an agreement with the Province of Gorizia, is taking care of the restoration, preservation and custody of the two buildings of the permanent fortification in the northeastern border as volunteering work, and who kindly provide all the technical details.
THE COTIČI CIRCUIT – A 10 minute walk from the cellar
The Italian Gunned Fortifications of Cotiči represent a valued testimony of war operations during the Great War in the Isonzo front. They were built in the fall of 1916 by Genio Minatori as a strategic outpost for the battles that took place during the following spring.
At an elevation of 242 meters, the artillery fortifications were situated in a gallery formed by six positions with as many artillery pieces. Each station was armored with steel slats and concrete buttresses. The range of action of the shooting lines went from San Gabriel to Tarnova, to Aisovizza (Ajdovščina) and Ossegliano (Ozeljan) behind Gorizia. The access to the gallery was through two partially collapsed sleeves that ended up at the San Michele-Peteano road.
At the same time as the artillery fortifications were built, the Italian army strengthened its position through defensive lines which covered the entire hill chain between Gabria, Castello di Rubbia, Boschici and Cotiči Superiore: a series of wire fences linked with the trenches of the “Doberdò Line” and the Mount Brestovec. The rear side was equipped with shingles and fortified shelters, developing logistic infrastructure, walkways and protected routes.
THE CAVE OF ČRNCI PEČINA – A 30-minute walk or 5-minute car ride from the cellar
The Monte San Michele circuit includes a series of galleries and recovered fortifications of historical interest in reference to the Great War on the Carso, among which are the Grotta Pečina and the Austro-Hungarian settlements in Črnci–Case Neri.
In the summer of 1915, the Austro-Hungarian rear occupied an area that included the village of Črnci, the area of Cotiči and the Visintini Valley. The Austrian Command reused numerous Carso caves located close to the front lines as shelter for soldiers and defense in the event of bombing.
These “Caves of War” belonged to the Grotta Pečina (Antro dei Casali Neri), excavated in a valley near the village of Case Neri. The cave had a large staircase (25x25m and 10m high), where wood shacks were placed that could accommodate up to 800 soldiers. The cave became the hallmark of the Hungarian regiments of Honved, which presided over the Monte San Michele. After the 6th Battle of the Isonzo (August 4-17, 1916), the Grotta Pečina was occupied by the Italian rearguard soldiers. On the entrance wall to the cave there is a placard, dated August 30, 1917, which testifies the presence of the Italian troops of the 29th Raggruppamento Assedio during the 11th Battle of Isonzo (August 17-31, 1917).
MONUMENTAL AREA OF MONTE SAN MICHELE
