Vittoriano
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The body of an Italian soldier who fell in the First World War and remained unnamed is preserved inside the Altar of the Fatherland: thus Italy remembers and honours the sacrifice of all those who donated their life in the name of its liberty.
The Tomb, as indicated by the inscription “IGNOTO MILITI”, is dedicated to “THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER”, that is to an unidentified Italian soldier who died in the First World War. The tomb was created to comply with a law of 1921, which set out to commemorate all the soldiers who died in the First World War with this one individual.
The body, chosen from eleven by a woman from Trieste, Maria Bergamas, who had lost her own son in the war, was transferred to Rome on a slow-moving train at night to allow the population to pay homage. The coffin was placed at the Altar of the Fatherland on 4 November 1921, the Day of National Unity and the Italian Armed Forces.
A bronze wreath lies on top of the Tomb with the inscription: “TO THE VALIANT WHO FELL IN THE WAR OF LIBERATION - THE WOMEN OF ITALY”; in front of the tomb there are two braziers in which a perpetual flame burns. On each one, the following inscription reads: “THE ITALIANS ABROAD TO THE FATHERLAND”, in memory of the donations made by Italian emigrants between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.
