Ara fallen for Italy and Colonna fallen for Austria-Hungary

The Empire of Austria-Hungary, as is well known, was a multiethnic and multicultural state that also included some areas with an Italian majority, such as today ‘ s province of Gorizia. At the outbreak of war, some subjects, not recognising themselves in the Empire and believing in the Italian character of the lands they inhabited, chose to desert and enlist as volunteersoldiers in the Royal Italian Army.

After the Great War these figures became very popular and celebrated, especially by the fascist regime, as examples of patriotism. For a long time it was thought that these volunteers were very numerous so as to justify even a posteriori the Italian character of these lands, but later studies have disproved this belief.

In the gardens between Via Regina Elena and Via Gorizia in Gradisca d’Isonzo, near the fortress, it is possible to enter an open space in the shade of centuries-old trees and pause in front of two monuments that retrace this phenomenon and make one realise how complicated the Great War was in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The Altar dedicated to the Gradiscan Fallen for Italy and the Column to the Gradiscan Fallen for Austria-Hungary symbolically recall the vicissitudes of Habsburg subjects of Italian nationality.

In the centre of the square stands a large altar dedicated to the fallen Gradiscans who fought for Italy in the Great War. On one side one can read the names of five men, including the famous Antonio Bergamas, son of Maria, the woman who chose the coffin of the Unknown Soldier. On the opposite side, a long epigraph signed by General Armando Diaz traces the history of the Great War, especially the most glorious period, that of the reconquest of eastern Veneto and Friuli in 1918.

Next to it, the Gradisca Municipality placed a simple four-sided column in 2001 to commemorate Gradisca residents who had fought in the Great War with the Habsburg army. Arranged in alphabetical order, you can read the 90 names of young men who fell between 1914 and 1918.

INFORMATION
Giardini Pubblici corner Via Gorizia-Via Regina Elena
I-34072 Gradisca d’Isonzo (GO)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
I.A.T. Gradisca d’Isonzo
via Ciotti, 49
I-34072 Gradisca d’Isonzo GO
Tel +39 0481 960624
Fax +39 0481 960624
prolocogradisca@virgilio.it

Redipuglia Military Memorial

The Redipuglia Memorial is the largest and most majestic Italian shrine dedicated to the fallen of the Great War. Built on the slopes of Monte Sei Busi to a design by architect Giovanni Greppi and sculptor Giannino Castiglioni, it was inaugurated on 18 September 1938 after ten years of work. This work, also known as the Sacrario “dei Centomila” (Shrine of the Hundred Thousand), holds the remains of 100,187 soldiers who fell in the surrounding areas, some of whom were initially buried on the Colle di Sant’Elia in front of it. Strongly desired by the fascist regime, the shrine wanted to celebrate the sacrifice of the fallen as well as to give a dignified burial to those who had not found a place in the Cimitero degli Invitti. The structure consists of three levels and symbolically represents the army descending from the sky, led by its commander, to walk the Via Eroica. At the top, three crosses recall the image of Mount Golgotha and the crucifixion of Christ. Having parked the car on the square in front of the shrine, the visit begins after passing the chain of the destroyer’Grado’, an Austro-Hungarian ship that became Italian after the end of the war. Walking towards the tombs , one walks along the ‘Via Eroica’ , a stone-paved road bordered by 38 bronze plaques indicating the names of the Karst localities disputed during the Great War. At the end of this evocative route , one arrives at the majestic tombs of the generals, among which stands out that of the commander of the Third Army, Emanuele Filiberto Duca d’Aosta , who had expressed the wish to be buried at Redipuglia. The tomb is formed from a block of red marble from Val Camonica weighing 75 tonnes. At its side are the granite tombs of five generals: Antonio Chinotto, Tommaso Monti, Giovanni Prelli, Giuseppe Paolini and Fulvio Riccieri. Behind them rise the 22 steps (2.5 metres high and 12 metres wide) that, in alphabetical order, hold the remains of the 39857 soldiers identified. Each loculus is surmounted by the inscription ‘Present’ and can be reached via the side stairs leading to the top. In the centre of the first step is the only woman buried, a Red Cross nurse named Margherita Kaiser Parodi Orlando, while on the 22nd step are the remains of 72 sailors and 56 men of the Guardia di Finanza. At the end of the staircase and steps, two large tombs covered with bronze slabs hold the remains of over 60,000 unknown soldiers. Passing through, one arrives at the top of the shrine where the visit can continue by visiting the small chapel that holds the ‘Deposition’ and the Stations of the Cross panels by the sculptor Castiglioni. Above this religious structure are the three bronze crosses. At the back of the last step are two museum rooms: inside are photographs of the first Redipuglia Shrine, documents, war relics and Ciotti’s paintings that adorned the first Tomb of the Duke of Aosta, originally placed in the small chapel at the top of the Sant’Elia Hill. On the plateau, at Quota 89, is the Observatory and a model of the territory showing the border line at dawn on 24 October 1917, the day of the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo. INFORMATION Via III Armata I-34070 Fogliano Redipuglia (GO) Tel. +39 0481 489024 redipuglia@onorcaduti.difesa.it Timetable Sacrarium: always open Exhibition halls at the top and Our Lady Queen of Peace Church: from 1 November to 14 March Tuesday to Saturday 9.00-12.00, 14.00-17.00 Mondays, Sundays and public holidays: closed 15 March to 30 October Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m.-12 noon, 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 9 a.m.-12.30 p.m., 1.30-6 p.m. Monday : closed Easterclosing ATTENTION Due to urgent restoration works in progress, the Military Shrine of Redipuglia can be partially visited. Currently , the lower square (Tombs of the Generals and Via Eroica) up to the first step and the upper part ( Exhibition Halls, Church and Observatory) can be reached by taking the municipal road that leads to the open-airMuseum of the Dolina del XV Bersaglieri and following the signs on site. FOR MORE INFORMATION Sentieri di Pace – IAT Fogliano Redipuglia Via III Armata, 37 I-34070 Fogliano Redipuglia (GO) Tel. +39 0481 489139 Cell. +39 346 1761913 info@prolocofoglianoredipuglia.it
Great War Museum “Casa III Armata” di Redipuglia

An integral part of the Shrine, the Redipuglia Great War Museum is located inside the former House of the III Army at the foot of Colle Sant’Elia. Born in 1971, it offers an overview of the events of this section of the front and a collection of weapons that makes it one of the most complete in Italy. It consists of an entrance hall where a topographical map of the front of the Middle and Lower Isonzo has been set up and four rooms. The first is dedicated to the Third Army and you can admire the showcases where the weapons used by the fighters during the conflict, some soldiers’ uniforms and medical equipment are exhibited. In the center of the room a stretch of trench and a karst battlefield with the position of a heavy machine gun have been reconstructed On the walls, numerous photographs document life in the trenches. The second room, on the other hand, reconstructs the history and construction projects of the Thirty Thousand Invited Cemetery and the Redipuglia Memorial through the numerous photographic material. Added to this are the images of the war inscriptions found in the trenches of the area and a section dedicated to the Navy, the Air Force and military chaplains at the front. The third room exhibits various equipment used by soldiers including telephones, leg traps and shears. Often this space is also used as an exhibition venue for some temporary exhibitions on the Great War. Finally, in the last room a video of a film reconstructs the Twelve Battles of the Isonzo and the translation of the Unknown Soldier from Aquileia to Rome. THE MUSEUM WILL REMAIN CLOSED FOLLOWING URGENT MEASURES REGARDING THE CONTAINMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF THE EMERGENCY FROM COVID-19INFORMATIONS Via Terza Armata (piazzale antistante il Sacrario) I-34070 Fogliano Redipuglia (GO) Tel. +39 0481 489024Opening time from 1° October to 14 March From Tuesday to Saturday 9.00-12.00, 14.00-17.00 Monday, Sunday and Holidays: closed from 15 March al 30 September from Tuesday to Friday 9.00-12.00, 14.00-17.00 Saturday, Sunday and Holidays 9.00-12.30, 13.30-18.00 Monday and Easter: closed Free entrance FOR MORE INFORMATIONS Sentieri di Pace – IAT Fogliano Redipuglia Via III Armata, 37 34070 Fogliano Redipuglia Tel. +39 0481 489139 Cell. +39 346 1761913 info@prolocofoglianoredipuglia.it
Casa Cadorna in Doberdò del Lago

The Casa Cadorna refuge is located on Monte Castellazzo, one of the many karstic heights near Doberdò del Lago. It was built in 1916 (and later restored in 1977) at 106 metres above sea level along a Karst road used first by the Austro-Hungarians and, after the advance of the front towards the east in the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, by the Italians. The dedication to the general dates back to a visit that Cadorna made to his troops at this very spot, considering it a refuge absolutely sheltered from enemy attacks.To reach this site, one must start out from Doberdò and follow, on foot or by mountain-bike, the CAI 77 path that ends near the lake. Along the road, it is also possible to admire (paying attention) numerous military works, in particular trenches and emplacements. After about two kilometres, you arrive at the Casa Cadorna refuge, from where you can enjoy the wonderful panorama towards Lake Doberdò and the Trieste Karst (especially the line of Monte Ermada). INFORMATION Along the CAI 77 path (starting from Via Vallone) I-34070 Doberdò del Lago (GO)FOR MORE INFORMATION Gradina VisitorCentre Via Vallone, 32 I-34070 Doberdò del Lago (GO) Tel. +39 0481 784111 Cell. +39 320 2963942 info@rogos.it
St. Elias Hill

The Colle di Sant’Elia (St. Elia’s Hill) is a hill opposite the Redipuglia Memorial and housed the Cemetery of the Undefeated of the Third Army, the first monumental shrine of the First World War. Conceived as early as 1919 by the Military War Memorial Office, the work was inaugurated in 1923 and housed the remains of 30,000 fallen soldiers in the area. With the inauguration of the Redipuglia Shrine in 1938, the Cemetery of the Undefeated was stripped of its functions and converted into a Park of Remembrance. The initial project was by Colonel Vincenzo Paladini who, inspired by theidea of Dante’s Purgatory, designed a cemetery formed by seven concentric sectors that reached from the base to the top. At the top, an esplanade was created with a votive chapel and an obelisk in the shape of a lighthouse where the long avenues through the cemetery ended. In front of the hill, Mount Sei Busi and the entire IsonzoKarst line, where thousands of soldiers lost their lives, was clearly visible. This structure had a strong emotional impact on the visitor. The hill was then rendered even more evocative by the arrangement of the burials, which was intended to reproduce the randomness of death. Instead of crosses, war materials found around Mount Sei Busi were placed, accompanied by epigraphs with a poetic tone. The intention was not to forget how, during the war, tombs were built with material found on the battlefields. In the following years, however, due to the climatic conditions, many of the finds used for the tombs began to be seriously damaged. This led to some restoration work that was stopped when the Redipuglia Memorial was planned in 1936 at the behest of the fascist regime, which intended to create a monumental work to celebrate the fallen of the Great War. The 30,000 corpses were thus moved and the Cemetery of the Undefeated lost its original function. At the end of World War II, the Sant’Elia Hill was converted into a Park of Remembrance. Today it consists of a large stepped avenue on which reproductions of the original relics and epigraphs are arranged. On the summit there is no longer a chapel and obelisk, but a Roman column from Aquileia commemorating the fallen of all wars. INFORMATION Via III Armata (in front of the Redipuglia Memorial ) I-34070 Fogliano Redipuglia (GO) Tel. +39 0481 489024Timetable hours Always open FOR MORE INFORMATION Sentieri di Pace -IAT Fogliano Redipuglia Via III Armata, 37 I-34070 Fogliano Redipuglia (GO) Tel. +39 0481 489139 Cell. +39 346 1761913 info@prolocofoglianoredipuglia.it