Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Italian Mausoleum (Kostnica)
The 55 miles between here and the Adriatic are dotted with more than 75 cemeteries, re-
minders of the countless casualties of the So
č
a Front. One of the most dramatic is this
mausoleum, overlooking Kobarid. The access road, across Kobarid's main square from the
side of the church, is marked by stone gate towers (with the word
Kostnica—
one tower is
topped with a cross and the other with a star for the Italian army).
Take the road up Gradi
č
Hill—passing Stations of the Cross—to the mausoleum. Built
in 1938 (when this was still part of Italy) around the existing Church of St. Anthony, this
octagonal pyramid holds the remains of 7,014 Italian soldiers. The stark, cold, Neoclassical
architecture is pure Mussolini. Names are listed alphabetically, along with mass graves for
more than 1,700 unknown soldiers
(militi ignoti).
Walk behind the church and enjoy the
view.
Scan the WWI battlements high on the
mountain'srockface.Incredibly,thefightingwasdoneonthesetreacherousridges;civilians
inthevalleysonlyheardthedistantbattles.Lookingupanddownthevalley,noticethe“sig-
nal churches” evenly spaced on hilltops, each barely within view of the next—an ancient
method for quickly spreading messages or warnings across long distances.
