Memory

On this territory, the history of the 1900s is written. If, after reading about it in books, you want to personally witness what totalitarianism means and its consequences, both in terms of the deprivation of freedom and the incitement to war, you need only walk through these places. This applies to people from all over the world, since World War II brought soldiers from around the world here to fight for freedom from Nazi-fascist oppression. It also applies to all the young residents of this territory who did not experience their grandparents' struggles.

The path we recommend starts from the island of Ventotene. Here, dissidents of the fascist regime were “confined,” intellectuals of all political beliefs whose only fault was refusing to remain silent about the curtailment of freedoms, particularly after the issuance of the racial laws in ’39. Here, a group of men and women wrote the famous “Manifesto for a Free and United Europe,” signed by a communist, Altiero Spinelli, and a liberal, Ernesto Rossi. From Ventotene to Montecassino, this is a journey we should all take. It illustrates the war of yesterday and invites us to support peace for today and our future. Every year, a torch is lit in Ventotene on May 9th, Europe Day, and carried to Montecassino by young students from the high schools of Cassino, the martyr city!

To understand the horrors of war, you can walk the path of military cemeteries dedicated to various countries that fought here: those of Poland, the Commonwealth, Germany, England, France, and Italy. They are scattered throughout the territory and are all different in structure. They have one thing in common: the young age of the soldiers buried under the crosses.

If you want to understand what happened in those parts of the world that suffered heavy bombardments during the wars they were involved in, you only need to visit the Historiale Museum in Cassino, created by the well-known Carlo Rambaldi. The images, voices, and war environments, reconstructed with special effects, will make you relive those dramatic moments experienced by the local communities between January and May of 1944.

If you wish to go to the sites of the battles and see with your own eyes the destruction caused by the war, simply follow the “Great Path of Memory” and let the signs marking the entrance to each involved municipality guide you to what happened, for future memory.

If you find a work of art, made of wood, with a bicycle at its center, the rear wheel crumpled and the front wheel perfectly intact, approach it. It’s another work by Rambaldi meant to remind us of the tragedy of the past and to wish for peace in the future.

Another place to visit, following the mountain path between the municipality of Terelle and that of Colle San Magno, is the medieval village of the latter. Inside the village, there is another museum that preserves the memories of the last war. Following the path, you will experience another piece of history, because this path was used for supplies to the German soldiers stationed behind the Gustav defensive line. The wounded soldiers also traveled along this same path to find care in the rear.

In May, when the poppies are in bloom, you will walk these paths alongside people from all over the world to honor their ancestors who died on this territory, a land that respectfully and kindly welcomes all opposing combatants, perhaps both victims of senseless choices for which they are not to blame, and it carefully preserves the Memory as a warning against all wars.