Villimpenta – Staranzano

10th day

The highlight of today's route was the city of Montagnana, one of the best-preserved medieval fortified complexes in the world. The interior has also remained intact, making the visit quite interesting 🦇.

The journey was a bit more pleasant, and since we arrived at our destination early and rain was not expected until later in the evening, we decided to take a walk to the Military Memorial Repiduglia, or in other words, a military monument consisting of a monumental staircase dedicated to the soldiers who fell in World War I 🙁.

“It is the most well-known of the numerous and enormous cemeteries built in the 1930s, being the final resting place of the remains of 100,187 Italian soldiers plus one woman (a Red Cross nurse). Of them, almost two-thirds are unknown 😓, all victims of the twelve battles of Isonzo.
The mass grave or ossuary is essentially a staircase or succession of terraces arranged on the western slope of a gently sloping hill (Mont Sei Busi), the scene of fierce fighting, for whose control so many young lives were lost. The word “PRESENT” is written over and over as if those resting there were responding to their commander: a military parade of ghosts, an endless list of those who had no choice but to go defend their land, our land in the name of freedom.” (Gavin Stamp).

Every November 4th, a commemorative ceremony is held to honor the deceased. This afternoon, there was nothing but a sad and tiny wreath of flowers that we did not want to touch out of respect, which mentioned some of the fallen.

At the top of the staircase, three simple bronze crosses and a small chapel. Behind them, two small museums contain documents, memorabilia, and some photographs.

After the walk, there wasn't much energy left for anything else 😡. You come back upset when you visit places like this and can't help but wonder if it wouldn't be interesting for some people to stroll through sites like this and absorb the pain they emanate before unleashing their stupidity. <This message was edited>

I sat down for a while to write the blog while T prepared dinner.

Good night… I’ll keep sharing more 🥹