Huge fascist-era underground cisterns draw Western special forces to Italy for tunnel training

ROME — Battles in tunnels in Gaza and fierce underground fighting in Ukraine have convinced special forces units around the world to brush on the latest techniques in subterranean combat, but they are facing a problem — where do you train for that?

One answer lies in Italy, where a growing number of nations are lining up to use an unlikely location built deep underground in the 1930s by the government of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

Lurking under woodland in Fornovo Taro near Parma lies a system of five massive, drum-shaped cisterns which once held aviation fuel as well as 2km of connecting passageways, all designed to withstand enemy bombing.

“Gaza has accelerated the use of this place like this - despite their technology, the Israelis were not ready for fighting in tunnels,” said a manager at the site, who spoke to Defense News but declined to be named due to company policy.

Israel is among 17 national customers who have now trained at the privately run site known as La Carona, with other special forces units arriving from countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Poland, Greece and Turkey.

An Israeli soldier guards a tunnel, where the Israeli army suspects Hamas underground infrastructure near the Gaza European Hospital near Khan Yunis, Gaza, on June 8, 2025. (Amir Levy/Getty Images, reviewed by Israeli government prior to transmission)

The U.S. Green Berets have also used the site as does a dedicated Italian army underground fighting unit created by the Italian army Folgore paratrooper brigade.

After resisting 150 bombing runs by the Allies in the Second World War, the cisterns continued to be used by the Italian Air Force to hold aviation fuel until 2000 when the site was abandoned and the fuel drained out.

In 2020 the La Carona was purchased and reopened for training by its current owners.

“We saw the site and decided it would be perfect for special forces training,” said the manager.

The cylindrical tanks, which are supported by concrete columns, measure around 20 meters in diameter by seven meters in height and are linked by tunnels which once channelled fuel between them. Another 1km long tunnel once carried fuel to a nearby train station.

Special forces entering the tunnels now engage in simulated combat.

The space recreates the limitations of real tunnel fighting - from darkness, to limited radio use to no GPS. A control room allows trainers to generate sound, including the noise of explosions, as well as smoke and lighting.

Robot canines and real dogs, as well as drones that can function without GPS can all be introduced.

“The key ability to learn here is how to map underground spaces,” said the manager.

A Russian serviceman inspects an underground tunnel at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on June 13, 2022. (Yuri Kadobnov/AFP via Getty Images)

Combat in tunnels grabbed the headlines as the Israel Defense Forces entered the so-called Gaza Metro - a system of tunnels thought to total hundreds of miles - when it sought out hostages taken during the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

A year earlier, Ukrainian forces held out for weeks against Russian attacks in the labyrinth of underground tunnels under the Azovstal iron and steel works in Mariupol, which was described as a ‘fortress within a city’.

“Most of the world’s population now lives in an urban setting and war is increasingly fought in cities. Underground combat can make the difference,” said the manager.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——加沙隧道中的战斗和乌克兰激烈的地下战斗促使世界各地的特种部队重新学习最新的地下作战技术，但他们面临着一个问题——在哪里进行这种训练呢？

答案之一就在意大利，越来越多的国家正排队等待使用一个不太可能的地方，这个地方是意大利法西斯独裁者贝尼托·墨索里尼的政府在 20 世纪 30 年代建造的地下深处。

在帕尔马附近的福尔诺沃塔罗的树林下，隐藏着一个由五个巨大的鼓形蓄水池组成的系统，这些蓄水池曾经储存航空燃料，还有 2 公里长的连接通道，所有这些都是为了抵御敌人的轰炸而设计的。

“加沙加快了对这个地方的利用——尽管以色列拥有先进的技术，但他们还没有做好在隧道中作战的准备，”该地点的一位经理告诉《防务新闻》，但由于公司政策，他拒绝透露姓名。

以色列是目前在名为 La Carona 的私人运营基地接受训练的 17 个国家客户之一，其他特种部队则来自比利时、法国、德国、荷兰、波兰、希腊和土耳其等国。

2025年6月8日，在加沙地带汗尤尼斯附近的加沙欧洲医院附近，一名以色列士兵守卫着一条隧道。以色列军方怀疑该隧道内藏有哈马斯的地下设施。（图片来源：Amir Levy/Getty Images，经以色列政府审核后发布）

美国陆军特种部队“绿色贝雷帽”也曾使用过该基地，意大利陆军“闪电”伞兵旅组建的专门的意大利陆军地下作战部队也曾使用过该基地。

在第二次世界大战期间抵御了盟军 150 次轰炸之后，这些蓄水池继续被意大利空军用于储存航空燃料，直到 2000 年该地点被废弃，燃料被抽干。

2020 年，La Carona 被其现任所有者收购并重新开放，用于培训。

“我们考察了场地，认为它非常适合特种部队训练，”经理说。

这些圆柱形储罐由混凝土柱支撑，直径约20米，高约7米，并通过隧道连接，这些隧道曾经用于输送燃料。另一条长1公里的隧道曾将燃料输送到附近的火车站。

进入隧道的特种部队现在正在进行模拟战斗。

这个场地重现了真实隧道作战的种种限制——从黑暗、无线电通讯受限到无法使用GPS。控制室可以让训练人员制造各种声音，包括爆炸声，以及烟雾和灯光效果。

可以引入机器狗、真狗以及无需 GPS 即可运行的无人机。

“在这里要学习的关键技能是如何绘制地下空间地图，”经理说。

2022年6月13日，在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰期间，一名俄罗斯军人在马里乌波尔的亚速钢铁厂检查一条地下隧道。（Yuri Kadobnov/AFP via Getty Images）

以色列国防军进入所谓的加沙地铁（据信总长数百英里的隧道系统）寻找在 2023 年 10 月 7 日哈马斯袭击以色列期间被劫持的人质，隧道内的战斗占据了各大媒体的头条。

一年前，乌克兰军队在马里乌波尔亚速钢铁厂地下迷宫般的隧道中，抵御了俄罗斯军队数周的进攻，该隧道被形容为“城中堡垒”。

“现在世界上大部分人口都居住在城市里，战争也越来越多地发生在城市里。地下作战可能会决定战局，”这位经理说道。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。