This itinerary explores the theme of the Great War. It considers the places that commemorate the fallen, with buildings and monuments commissioned from renowned artists and architects of the time.
Porticoes of Palazzo Gotico — Memorial plaque (1919)
The monument, located under the portico of Palazzo Gotico in Piacenza, is one of the earliest examples of commemorative works dedicated to those who fell in the First World War. Dating back to 1919 in its first plaster version, it consists of two bronze plaques and a larger marble one, surrounded by a bronze frame. Over the years, other inscriptions have been added, such as those of the fallen of the Second World War.
Porticoes of Palazzo Gotico — Memorial Stone (1922)
Cesare Battisti, killed by the Austrians in 1916, immediately became a national hero and a symbol of irredentism for the Italian lands still under the Austrian Empire. The plaque placed here in his memory was created in 1922 by the renowned Piacenza sculptor Astorri.
Piazza Casali — Casa del Mutilato (1938)
Designed by Piacenza architect Alfredo Soressi, it is the headquarters of the local branch of the National Association of War Disabled and Invalids (ANMIG). It is a massive cylindrical structure, typical of a fortress, from which rises an octagonal tower imitating medieval churches and baptisteries. Like the Casa Madre in Rome, the building was a votive temple where the secular cult of the “virtue of sacrifice” and unquenchable love for the homeland was celebrated. The clients, the mutilated veterans of the Great War, are depicted as a positive symbol of the nation’s recent history.
Piazzale Milano — Monument to the Pontieri Engineers (1928)
The monument to the Pontieri Engineers of Italy was built in honour of the 2nd Pontieri Engineers Regiment. This unit of the Italian Army was founded in Piacenza in 1883. It was involved in both military operations and rescue activities for the population.
Initially, a competition was held for the design of a simple plaque. In 1926, Lieutenant Peranna, an architect, and Mario Salazzari, a soldier and sculptor, were chosen. The iconography of the monument expresses the heroism of the Genio Pontiere in both wartime and peacetime. It consists of four bronze sculptural groups. On the north side, facing the river, a pyramid-shaped composition depicts a soldier rescuing a woman who is almost lifeless from the water. A second soldier is holding a child close to him and a woman raising a child towards the sky. On the south side, facing the city, four bridge builders are seen pushing the characteristic iron barge with force, encouraged by the allegorical figure of Italy. On either side, symbolic figures of old men with long beards pour water from large amphorae, representing the rivers: the Piave to the east and the Isonzo to the west, places where the bridge builders fought during the Great War.
Urban cemetery, second field — War Memorial (1936-39)
In 1930, the Municipality of Piacenza decided to reserve an area of the city’s main cemetery for the dignified and permanent burial of those who had fallen in war. The cemetery chapel, supervised by the Piacenza painter Luciano Ricchetti, features symbols of the Christian world, with references to sacrifice and hope in the afterlife, and military celebration. An octagonal dome houses the figures of the Redeemer, St Antoninus, patron saint of Piacenza, a bishop (St Savino or Tedaldo Visconti of Piacenza), Pope Gregory X and a wounded soldier, stoically standing among the barbed wire of the trench, intent on throwing the last bombs. The other four segments feature a helmet inside a crown of thorns, symbolising the convergence between the sacrifice of the soldiers and the sacrifice of Christ.