| Tomb of the Unknown Soldier | |
|---|---|
Tomba del Milite Ignoto | |
| Italy | |
.jpg) Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, under the statue ofgoddess Roma, atAltare della Patria,Rome. Above it can be seen the equestrian statue ofVictor Emmanuel II of Savoy, the first king of aunified Italy | |
 | |
| ForItalians who died and were missing in war | |
| Unveiled | November 4, 1921 (1921-11-04) |
| Location | |
| Designed by | Angelo Zanelli |
"Milite ignoto" – "Xxiv Maggio Mcmxv" – "Iv Novembre Mcmxviii" | |
TheTomb of the Unknown Soldier (Italian:Tomba del Milite Ignoto) is awar memorial located inRome under the statue of thegoddess Roma at theAltare della Patria. It is asacellum dedicated to theItalian soldiers killed and missing duringwar.
It is the scene of official ceremonies that take place annually on the occasion of theItalian Liberation Day (April 25), theItalian Republic Day (June 2) and theNational Unity and Armed Forces Day (November 4), during which thePresident of the Italian Republic and thehighest offices of the State pay homage to the shrine of the Unknown Soldier with the deposition of alaurel wreath in memory of the fallen and missingItalians in the wars.
The body of the Italian unknown soldier was chosen on 28 October 1921 in theBasilica of Aquileia byMaria Bergamas, the mother of Antonio Bergamas, anItalian irredentist volunteer in theRoyal Italian Army whose body was not recovered duringWorld War I.[1] Maria Bergamas chose the body from among 11 unidentified bodies of members of the Italian Armed Forces whose remains had been retrieved from various areas of the front.[1]
Maria Bergamas, after passing in front of the first few coffins, slumped to the ground in front of the tenth coffin and screamed her son's name: this was the chosen body.[2] The other ten bodies remaining inAquileia were buried in the military cemetery.[1]
The chosen body made a journey from Aquileia toRome by train, passing throughUdine,Treviso,Venice,Padua,Rovigo,Ferrara,Bologna,Pistoia,Prato,Florence,Arezzo,Chiusi andOrvieto, at a moderate speed, in each station the population could honour the Unknown Soldier.[1]
The body was buried on November 4, 1921, at theAltare della Patria in Rome under the statue of thegoddess Roma with a solemn ceremony, at which KingVictor Emmanuel III was present as well as many veterans and war widows.[1] The body was initially transported by some soldiers to theBasilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs before being transferred, through a procession, to the Altare della Patria.[1]
Theepigraph on the tomb at theAltare della Patria shows "Milite ignoto" and dates "Xxiv Maggio Mcmxv" (24 May 1915) and "Iv Novembre Mcmxviii" (4 November 1918), or the beginning and end of Italian participation in the First World War. The burial ceremony of the Unknown Soldier, which took place on November 4, 1921, was the most important and participatory patriotic demonstration ofunited Italy,[3] given that a million people participated.[4]
On November 1, on the initiative of deputyGiovanni Giuriati,[5] to the Unknown Soldier was awardedGold Medal of Military Valour, the highest Italian military decoration, with a motivation that was later also reported on the side of hissacellum which located inside the Altare della Patria, in the homonymous crypt:
Worthy son of a brave lineage and of a millennial civilization, he resisted inflexible in the most contended trenches, lavished his courage in the bloodiest battles and fell fighting without other hope than the victory and greatness of the Fatherland[a]
On the front door of the internalcrypt is present this epitaph,[1] which was written by King Victor Emmanuel III:[4]
Unknown the name – its spirit dazzles – wherever Italy is – with a voice of tears and pride – they say – innumerable mothers: – it is my son[b]
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Parts of the crypt and the sepulchre were made with stone materials from the mountains that were the scene of the battles of the First World War: the marble floor is from theKarst Plateau while the small altar was made of a single block of stone fromMonte Grappa.
The tomb of the Unknown Soldier is always guarded by soldiers.[1] The guard is provided with military personnel of the various branches of theItalian Armed Forces, which alternate every ten years.[1] In 2011, from 29 October to 2 November, on the occasion of the celebrations for the 150thanniversary of the unification of Italy and of the 90th anniversary of the transfer of the body from Aquileia to Rome, there was the historical re-enactment of the journey by train of the Unknown Soldier.
It is the scene of official ceremonies that take place annually on the occasion of theItalian Liberation Day (April 25), theItalian Republic Day (June 2) and theNational Unity and Armed Forces Day (November 4), during which thePresident of the Italian Republic and thehighest offices of the State pay homage to the shrine of the Unknown Soldier with the deposition of alaurel wreath in memory of the fallen and missingItalians in the wars.[6]
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The reason for his strongsymbolism lies in themetaphorical transition from the figure of the soldier to that of thepeople and finally to that of thenation: this transition between increasingly broader and generic concepts is due to the indistinct traits of the non-identification of the soldier.[7]
His tomb is a symbolic shrine that represents all the fallen and missing in the war.[8] The side of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier that gives outward at the Altare della Patria is always guarded by a guard of honour and two flames that burn perpetually in braziers.[9]
The allegorical meaning of the perpetually burning flames is linked to their symbolism, which is centuries old, since it has its origins inclassical antiquity, especially in thecult of the dead. A fire that burns eternally symbolizes the memory, in this case of the sacrifice of the Unknown Soldier moved by patriotic love, and his everlasting memory of the Italians, even in those who are far from their country: not by chance on the two perennial braziers next to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier a plaque is placed whose text reads "Italians Abroad to the Motherland" in memory of donations made byItalian emigrants between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century for the construction of the Vittoriano.[10]
Media related toTomb of the Unknown Soldier, Vittoriano (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Victor Emmanuel II Monument | Landmarks of Rome Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Italy) | Succeeded by Campo Verano |