At only 1,520 m, the Gampenpass mountain pass (Passo Palade in Italian) is one of the lowest mountain passes in the Alps and was the main north-south route once used by wayfarers and pilgrims, before the roads were built. The Alta Val di Non/Deutschnonsberg area always represented the boundary between cultures and served as a frontier: a place of both meeting and separation.
The Gampenpass in Deutschnonsberg is also positioned along a geological fault line. The Eurasian and African plates are joined along the 700 km Insubria historical-geographical line, making it the longest tectonic fault line in the Alps.
Built between 1935 and 1939, the road across the Gamepnpass mountain pass connecting the villages of Lana in South Tyrol and Fondo in Trentino represented an engineering feat at the time.
One of the most important WWII-era bunker systems in South Tyrol was built on the Gampenpass on the border between South Tyrol and Trentino. Today the bunker in the Gampen Gallery hosts exhibitions including a permanent collection of minerals and a photo exhibition.