Mount Della SPE

This hill (934 m) overlooks the capital of Castel d'Aiano from the north-east, where it is better known by the name of "Madonnina".
Monte della Spe, was taken by the American Alpine troops of the 10th Mountain Division on 6 March 1945, the day after the liberation of Castel d'Aiano, who then had to repel as many as 4 counterattacks by the German 29th Panzergrenadier Division.
Spe is one of the peaks that most often recurs in the memories of American veterans of the 10th, as it represented the last bridgehead from which the "final leap" towards the Po valley. 45, the coordinated attacks of the three regiments of the division (85th, 86th and 87th) towards the German positions of Serre d'Aiano, Torre Jussi and Rocca di Roffeno.
Today the summit area has all been cleaned up and marked out for the benefit of visitors: while retaining some traces of the German presence, almost all the artifacts found there (walkways and trenches) were built by the Americans during the forty days of settlement of the front.