Assietta military road: can be reached by car via a dirt road from Usseaux as far as Colle dell’Assietta, then by foot on a pedestrianised dirt road.
The battery of Gran Serin was one of the largest constructions erected on the Assietta plains under the Triple Alliance, on the site of an earlier eighteenth-century fortification. The construction was surrounded by walls and perimeter trenches, which were crossed by the military road in two places. The troops’ barracks and the artillery warehouses were located inside. A vast gunpowder magazine, which was protected by artillery fire, is found under the battery. Four armed artillery sections, each with two 120 mm cannons, were deployed on the main façade. Included in the diverse sections were the munitions reserves, while, in front of these, a wide moat, flanked by a scarp for close-range defence, spread out. Outside the battery’s perimeter, a field position for six 150 mm mortars can be seen. The shooting fields spread out across various key positions of the Assietta plains. The remains of the old defensive barracks are found just below the battery; this large rectangular structure, protected by trenches and gunmen, housed most of the logistic services.
