Military

Cemeteries in Italy

A to C

D-N O-Z

Agira Canadian War Cemetery, Sicily (490 burials)

Agira was taken by the 1st Canadian Division on 28 July 1943. This site was chosen in September for the burial of all Canadians who had been killed in the Sicily campaign.
Leave the A19, Catania-Palermo, at Catenanuova. Follow signs to Regalbuto, then Agira. The cemetery is signposted about 12 km beyond Regalbuto.

Ancona War Cemetery (1,019 burials)

Ancona was taken on 18 July 1944 and served as the main supply port for the attack on the Gothic Line and for the final break
through the following spring at Argenta. This cemetery reflects the Allied progress up the Adriatic coast in August and September and contains graves brought in from a wide area extending from Pescara, 80 km to the south, to Pesaro, over 48 km north of Ancona.
Leave the A14, Taranto-Ancona-Bologna, at Ancona South and take the SS16 towards Ancona. After about 3 km (via Pietro Filonze) turn right passing in front of the wholesale fruit market and under a railway line. At the next junction turn left. The cemetery is several kilometres along this road, on the left, just after a petrol station, on the Strada di Passo Varano.

Anzio War Cemetery (1,056 burials)

In an attempt to break the Gustav Line in the west Allied troops were landed behind the German lines on 22 January 1944 where they met fierce opposition. The site for this cemetery was chosen
just after the landings and the burials here date from the period immediately following.

Anzio Beach Head War Cemetery (2,315 burials),

Lay close to a casualty clearing station. Many burials were made direct from the battlefield and after the Allied breakout in May, further graves were brought in from the surrounding countryside.
Leave the SS148, Rome-Latina, at the S207, direction Anzio. Beach Head Cemetery lies 5 km north of the town on the S207 and CWGC signs are visible 150 metres from the cemetery. There is a small parking area at the main entrance. Anzio War Cemetery also lies just off the S207, 1 km north of town.

Arezzo War Cemetery (1,266 burials)

The German stand in front of Arezzo led to fierce fighting before the town was taken on 16 July. The cemetery was begun in November and graves were brought into it from the surrounding area.
Leave the A1, Rome-Milan, at Arezzo. Before reaching the town turn right to Ponte a Chiani and follow signs to Indicatore. On reaching the S69, beyond Indicatore, turn left towards Montevarchi and the cemetery is on the left after 1 km.

Argenta Gap War Cemetery (625 burials)

This marks the final stages of the hard fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 and contains, among others, the graves of many of the Commandos engaged in the amphibious operations on the shores of the Comacchio lagoon early in April 1945.
Argenta is on the SS16 connecting Ravenna with Ferrara. Approaching the cemetery from the south, bear right just before reaching Argenta and proceed down the Strada di Circonvallazione, passing the railway station on the right. Take the second turning to the right and, after crossing the railway, carry on to a fork and again bear right. The turning to the
cemetery is on the left, a little further on, near a farm. Approaching the cemetery from the north, turn sharp left off the main road at the first crossroads on the edge of the town and then take the third turning to the left which will lead to the railway crossing mentioned above.

Assisi War Cemetery (945 burials)

Many of the burials in this cemetery date from June and July 1944, as the Germans attempted to stop the Allied advance north of Rome.
Leave the A1, Rome-Milan, at Orte, taking the SS3 to Perugia following signs for Assisi. Take the road to Rivotorto and at a crossroads, from which a church is visible, turn left. The cemetery is about 500 metres down this road.

Bari War Cemetery (2,128 burials)

Bari was the Army Group HQ for the early stages of the Italian campaign and continued to be a supply base and hospital centre until the end of the war. The
cemetery contains garrison and hospital burials, and others brought in from a wide area of south-east Italy. In 1981, 85 First World War graves were moved here from Brindisi.
Leave the A14, Taranto-Ancona, at Bari North, direction
Brindisi, then take the tangenziale heading south. At
exit 13B, follow the SS100 towards Taranto, leaving the
road at Triggiano. At the junction, turn left towards
Carbonara. The cemetery is on the right after 1.5 km.

Bologna War Cemetery (184 burials)

Bologna became the Allies’ first major objective in the spring of 1945 and was taken on 21 April. Opened as a garrison cemetery in June 1945, burials were later brought into it from the surrounding area.
The cemetery lies in the suburb of San Lazzaro (Parco dei Cedri). It stands on the north side of the SS9, between Bologna and Forlì, at Via Dozza, about 5 km south-east of the town and about 200 metres before the road crosses over the River Savena.

Bolsena War Cemetery (597 burials)

In June 1944 the Germans made their first stand north of Rome at Bolsena. The cemetery was begun in November and graves were brought in from the battlefields between Bolsena, Orvieto and, later, from the Island of Elba.
Leave the A1, Rome-Milan, at Orte, direction Viterbo. After 30 km turn right on to the SS2 for Siena. 7 km
south of Bolsena the entrance to the cemetery, which is on the eastern side of Lake Bolsena just west of the
SS2, can be clearly seen from the main road.

Caserta War Cemetery (768 burials)

The Royal Palace at Caserta served as headquarters for the Allied armies for most of the Italian campaign and there was a military hospital in the town from
December 1943 until September 1945 from which some of the burials in this cemetery were made. Others died as prisoners of war before the Allied invasion and there are a few burials from the
October 1943 fighting on the nearby River Volturno.
Leave the A1, Rome-Naples, at Caserta North. At the first set of traffic lights, turn left and continue east along the main street for about 1.8 km. Just before an Army barracks, and well before the Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale), take the small left turn and proceed to the T-junction. Turn right and carry on under the bridge to the main crossroads where there is a CWGC
signpost. Turn left and continue to the roundabout at the end of the road where there is a large communal cemetery on the far side. Turn right into the car park. Caserta War Cemetery is at the far end of the communal cemetery.

Cassino War Cemetery (4,271 burials)

Cassino saw some of the fiercest fighting of the Italian campaign, the town itself and the dominating Monastery Hill proving the most stubborn obstacles
encountered in the advance towards Rome. The site for the cemetery was selected in January 1944, but it could not be used until after the Germans had withdrawn. The Cassino Memorial which stands within the cemetery commemorates more than 4,000 men who died in the fighting all over Italy and who have no known grave.
Leave the A1, Rome-Naples, at Cassino. The cemetery
and memorial are clearly signposted from here.

Castiglione South African Cemetery (502 burials)

Started in November 1944 by the 6th South African Armoured Division, which entered Castiglione at the end of September and stayed in the area until the following April. Many of the burials were made direct from the battlefields of the Apennines where, during that winter, South African troops held positions north of Castiglione.
Castiglione is in mountainous country about 60 km north of Florence. Leave the A1 at the Roncobilaccio exit heading for Castiglione. The cemetery is beside the road on the right entering the town.

Catania War Cemetery, Sicily (2,135 burials)
contains burials from the later stages of the campaign in Sicily, including many who died in the heavy fighting just short of Catania and the battle for the Simeto river bridgehead.
The cemetery is 7 km south-west of Catania. From the
airport, follow the tangenziale towards the A19,
direction Palermo. The cemetery is signposted just
before reaching the A19.

Coriano Ridge War Cemetery (1,939 burials)
Coriano Ridge was the last important obstacle blocking the Allied advance in the Adriatic sector in the autumn of 1944. Its capture was the key to Rimini and eventually to the River Po. German airborne troops and tank squadrons resisted all attacks between 4 and 12 September 1944 when the Eighth Army renewed its attack. This attack took the Ridge, but marked the beginning of a week
of the heaviest fighting since Cassino in May, with the Eighth Army losing daily some 150 killed. The cemetery was made in April 1945 from graves brought in from the surrounding battlefields.
The cemetery is 3.5 km west of Riccione, a seaside resort on the Adriatic coast. Turn off the SS16, the main Rimini-Riccione road, about 1 km north-west of Riccione towards Coriano. Follow the CWGC signpost to a T-junction and turn left. The cemetery is on the right a little way along this road.