Military Memorial of Asiago

On a placid green hill just outside Asiago, the distinguishing white marble monument can be seen from a distance like a beacon. Its presence is a memorial to the fallen during World War I where these mountains were a fierce theater of war.

The monument is located at the end of a cypress lined street called Via degli Eroi (Street of the Heroes) and was designed by Venetian architect Orfeo Rossato and inaugurated in 1938. It was created out of a single block of local white marble and designed to resemble both a triumphal arch and a temple for symbolism.

On the temple's terrace level are views out of the four open arches over the landscape, with arrows pointing to the most heated battles. Downstairs in the crypt are corridors with the remains of nearly 50,000 Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers who died in these battlefields. At the center is an octagonal chapel with an altar. A museum holds the relics and personal items gathered from the men, along with maps, photos and documents, and a video-documentary.

The Sacrario Militare, as it is called, is open from 9:00 AM til 12:00 PM and from 2:00 PM til 5:00 PM. Asiago is near Bassano del Grappa, and is north of Vicenza.