War Memorial Bellinzona

The text on the front of the "Monumento ai caduti" reads:
"To his sons who
died in the service of the fatherland.
The grateful Ticino"

Near the remains of the southern city wall with a tower and a gate there is a monument to the victims of both world wars.
Originally there was only the central part, a high relief in white marble of a fallen soldier, which was erected in 1920 in Piazza Goberno.
It was the work of local sculptor Apollonio Pessina.

In 1948, the monument was enlarged into a triptych, in memory of the victims of the Second World War. Sculptor Pessina added two marble reliefs on either side of the central part.
The memorial was also moved from Piazza Goberno to the southern city wall.
The names of the Ticinese victims are engraved on the granite at the base, to the left -year by year- of those from the First World War, to the right of those from the Second World War.

In both wars, neutral Switzerland never saw any real fighting, but many young men served actively as soldiers and guarded the country's borders. During all these months, several lost their lives due to accidents or diseases.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Marie-Christine Vinck