About 7 miles south of Florence, we came upon the American Cemetery, one of 24 (14 devoted to WWII) run by the The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) all of them overseas except for the new memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Under these markers rest over 125,000 military. Marble tablets list the names of another 94,000 missing in action. These hallowed spots include several elements with the most impressive by far being the rows of white crosses (with the occasional Star of David.)
Wooded Tuscan hills and cypress frame the 70 acres of headstones of over 4400 military. Most died after Rome fell in June 1944. (Did you think only Normandy was in play then?) The Germans made a last stand in the Apennines (the Gothic Line) and casualties were high. Wikepedia will tell you all about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_Line .
Today we bring home our fallen. But what better place for a grave than the Tuscan hills? The war in Italy was the poor stepchild of the invasion of northern France, but sunny Italy provides a more gentle resting place than the blustery Norman Coast of the more famous American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. To see our pictures from there (taken with our favorite WWII vet) try this link: http://www.dickschmitt.com/paris/visitors/ev-francis2000/cemetery.htm
After the intricate beauty of nearby Renaissance Florence, the monotonous simplicity and sheer volume of the white markers provides a restful beauty all its own. Five pairs of brothers lie side-by-side here. At the top of the hill, a pylon greets visitors to the memorial.
The back of the memorial holds the "Tablets of the Missing" Over 1400 names of those who vanished without even a cross to mark their remains. The grounds also contain statues commemorating other regiments which had stood elsewhere in Italy but were attacked by vandals.
On each side of the Tablets of the Missing are marble atria with pools/fountains. The North atrium contains a map of the Italian operation made of pieces of colored marble. The South Atria (sorry no pictures) leads into the chapel. Along the way are quotations from Thucydides and Newman praising those who fall in battle.
A marble plaque discusses primarily the role of the US 5th Army (and a little of the British 8th Army) in the Italian campaign. The Germans finally surrendered unconditionally on May 2, 1945 -- 5 days before VE day.
Another marble map to remind tourists of their history. The American Battlefield Monuments Commission which runs the overseas cemeteries has three requirements of its architects for the memorials: a non-denominational chapel, a place to list those missing-in-action (MIA), and a place for maps describing the campaigns in the region. For a listing of all of the text here, try this link: http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/fl_base.pdf
Here's another view of the Tablets of the Missing. The cemetery and memorial were completed in 1959. Not shown is the chapel.
Cemetery staff are available to escort relatives to the grave sites. An aerial shot would show the symmetry of the layout as the white markers climb the Tuscan hill towards the memorial.
Atop the pylon is a carving representing peace. To me, it looks like one carved figure sleeping upright on top of another. Go figure. Everything you want to know, and a whole lot more, can be found at http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/fl_pict.pdf
Here's a shot of the full pylon sandwiched between Tuscan cypress. The spots also sports plane trees, willows (it's on the bank of the Greve river), holly oaks and cedars of oleander, laurel-cherry, crepe myrtle and Chinese star jasmine. For a short video of this place, try: http://media.oaktreesys.com/abmc/video/cemeteries/fl.wmv (It's 11M so have a fast modem). To see all of our travel pics, go to: http://www.dickschmitt.com/travels.htm
