Military shrine of Asiago

About

The Asiago War Memorial is a World War I memorial located in the town of Asiago in the Province of Vicenza in the Veneto region of northeast Italy. Surrounded by mountains that were the site of several World War I battles, the monument houses the remains of over 50,000 Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers and is a popular destination for travelers to the region. In Italian the memorial is called Sacrario Militare di Asiago or Sacrario Militare del Leiten. Leiten is the name of the hill on which the memorial sits.

Background and Construction: Asiago was one of the most symbolic locations of the Great War, having been overrun at the end of May 1916 by the Austro-Hungarian advance. After the war, Asiago was selected to house one of the largest Italian World War I memorials. Venetian architect Orfeo Rossato designed the monument, using one giant block of locally mined white marble of 80 square meters for the base, with the Roman arch added on top. Sculptors Montini and Zanetti also contributed to the work. The memorial was completed in 1938, with an inauguration ceremony held on 17 July. Benito Mussolini presided over the ceremony, and King Victor Emmanuel III was also present. The...