lntroduction

Por the Commissariat Generai far the U:'iar FaLlen, MemoriaLs and U:'iar Cemeteries that host the mortai remains of miLitary and civiLians who gave their most precious possession, Lift, far the homeLand, are PLaces ofMemory thick with meanings that, besides evoking speci.fic historical events and focts, enshrine aLL the stories and sacrifice ofthousands offomiLies.

Over more than a century, the Commissariat Generai never ceased to seek the foLLen who remain missing, as weLL as maintaining and enhancing the cemeteries to keep memory aLive, passing it on to the new generations. MemoriaLs and cemeteries are in foct Places of Lift: they honor the FaLLen across boundaries, without reLigious, poLiticaL ornationaL differences, to gi,ve them the eternai gratitude of the nation.

This is the reason why the MemoriaLs are popular destinations of visit and pilgrimage far numberLess people, students and tourists, a true symbol of nationaL unity, where the State authorities celebrate the Nation smost signi.ficant events.

This book, written with the contribution of the Commissariat Generai, is an important tooL far enhancement: agile and dynamic, it aLlows an increasingLy broad and diverse pubLic to approach these symbolic places.

This volume is an integrai part of the broader enhancement project of the ''Moments" and "Places" that were the background ofltalian history, and, like just a few others, I think, has the merit to keep our consciousness alive and facused.

progetto cli valori zzazione di quei "Momenti " e dei "Luoghi" che hanno fatto da s cenario alla storia d'Itali a e, come pochi altri credo, ha la qualità di riuscire a mantenere vive e attente le coscienze.

Coscienze a cui si indirizza la missione del Commissariato Generale per le Onoranze ai Caduti che, attraverso la perenne valorizzazione del culto della Memoria, riunisce ed interpreta i più alci aspetti valoriali che sono a fondamento cli w1a Nazione e, ponendosi come elemento di collegamento era generazioni, di fatto fornisce i capisaldi grazie ai quali tmo Staro viene vissuto dai propri cittadini come "Patria".

Il Commissario Generale per le Onoranze ai Caduti

Geo. C.A. ALESSANDRO VELTRI

Consciousness is the goal of the mission of the Commissariat Generai far the War Fallen which, by the unceasing enhancement of t the cult ofMemory, binds together and interprets the highest values that are the foundations ofour Nation and, being a connecting efement across generations, provides the cornerstones thanks to which the citizens ofa country see it as their Homefand.