The Military Memorial of Monte Grappa

Nestled along the peaks between Treviso and Vicenza, the military memorial of Monte Grappa stands at 1,776 meters above sea level. It is the largest Italian military ossuary of the First World War, accessible via the Strada Cadorna, a road built by the army in 1917 to transport materials for fortifications. The shrine was inaugurated in 1935, designed by the pair who created the Redipuglia War Memorial and The Italian Charnel House in Kobarid, featuring motifs that recall the Roman classicism of the Fascist period.

The shrine contains the remains of 22,950 soldiers. The northern sector contains the Austro-Hungarian ossuary, while the southern sector houses the Italian ossuary. Running between them is the 300m long Via Eroica. The 14 monoliths along it bear the names of mountain peaks which were the scene of intense fighting during the war. Along this road are buried 40 soldiers whose remains were found after the construction of the shrine.

At the center of the Italian ossuary is the chapel of the Madonna del Grappa, a symbol of the Christian faith in the Veneto. The shrine also contains the tomb of Marshal Gaetano Giardino, who commanded the Italian forces on the mountain during its defence in 1917-18. The memorial serves as a significant site for the memory and the cult of the fallen in Italy.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons