The Monumento ai caduti della Grande Guerra, located in Avellino's Piazza della Libertà, stands as a significant reminder of the city's involvement in the Great War. Inaugurated in 1943, the monument was built based on a design submitted by Aster Vetroni in 1919. The current structure, made of Carrara marble, replaces an earlier one made of bronze, which was removed in 1940 due to a royal decree for wartime needs. The monument features a large bas-relief of Victory embracing a soldier, topped by a 6.30-meter column in Cipollino marble, with a simplified Corinthian capital.
On the sides of the monument, two wreaths are sculpted on the stone, while four bullets were placed on the base to remember the bombardments of September 1943. The bombardments caused around 3,000 civilian casualties. In 2015, the bas-relief was restored, and in 2018, the entire monument was restored, with some sculptural elements no longer present according to the sources. The monument's original inscription 'AI CONCITTADINI/ CADUTI NELLA GRANDE GUERRA/ PER/ RESTITUIRE ALLA PATRIA/ IL GIUSTO CONFINE//' is on the back.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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