| Monte San Michele | |
|---|---|
 The San Michele in a World War I photograph | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 275 m (902 ft) |
| Coordinates | 45°53′09″N13°32′49″E / 45.88583°N 13.54694°E /45.88583; 13.54694 |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Location | Friuli-Venezia Giulia,Italy |
| Parent range | Karst Plateau |
Monte San Michele (Slovene:Debela griža) is ahill on theKarst Plateau, in the Italianprovince of Gorizia, on the border between the municipalities ofSagrado (Zagraj) andSavogna d'Isonzo (Sovodnje ob Soči). It is located eight kilometres southwest ofGorizia, on the left bank of theIsonzo,[1] and has four peaks, the highest two of which (Cima Due andCima Tre) have an elevation of 275 meters above sea level, while the lowest (Cima Uno) has an elevation of 237 meters, andCima Quattro stands at 264 meters.[2][3][4]
Due to its commanding position over the lower Isonzo valley and the plain of Gorizia, it was the theatre of heavy fighting during theFirst World War; along withSabotin andPodgora, the San Michele was one of the main bulwarks of the Austro-Hungarian defense of Gorizia during the earlybattles of the Isonzo, heavily fortified with multipletrenches,barbed wire, heavyartillery, tunnels andmachine-gun posts. It was one of the most bitterly contested heights on the Karst during the first sixbattles of the Isonzo; during thesecond battle of the Isonzo, in July 1915, it was twice captured by Italian troops, and twice recaptured by Austro-Hungarian counterattacks.[5] Partial gains were made during thethird andfourth battle of Isonzo.[6]
On 29 June 1916 the San Michele was the location of the first use ofpoison gas on theItalian Front, when the Austro-Hungarian released a mix ofchlorine andphosgene which killed 2,700 Italian troops and poisoned another 4,000 (additionally, some 250 Austro-Hungarians were killed, and 1,500 poisoned, due to a change in the wind that blew some of the gas back towards the Austro-Hungarian lines).[7][8][9] The San Michele was finally secured by the ItalianXI Corps (GeneralGiorgio Cigliana) in August 1916, during thesixth battle of Isonzo.[10][11][12]
PoetGiuseppe Ungaretti fought on the San Michele, which he mentioned in some of the poems collected inAllegria di naufragi.[13]
In 1922 the San Michele was declared a "monumental area", and turned into anopen-air museum.[14][15] A World War I museum is located near Cima Tre.[16][17]