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Memorials that visitors might have missed?

Posted by (northern CA) on

For Memorial Day weekend here in the USA, I am recalling that there are sites not so far off the beaten path, not really 'back doors' at all, yet they seem not to get the attention of American travelers in Europe in the way that Normandy beaches or deportation centers do --

What are some memorials that you have been moved by, and seemed to be under-visited instead of over-visited?

I'll start with an example: along the promenade in Nice if you go around the base of the Colline viewpoint you come upon the Monument aux Morts de Rauba-Capeù, honoring those lost in WWI. It's a somber and moving and also beautiful monument erected in 1928, set at the point in the cliffs where you would start the walk out to the lighthouse.

http://www.alluringworld.com/monuments-aux-morts/

This is a very short walk from the Cours Saleya market that is so often remarked upon here in the RS forum, yet it's rarely mentioned.

What spots have you found in your visits that are similar?

Posted by
269 posts

The American Cemetary in Florence. We passed this on the way to Florence from Siena, and of course turned around to visit. Beautiful mosaic map describing the Italian front on the wall in the memorial. This might be a known location to others, but we were very surprised by it.

https://www.abmc.gov/Florence

Posted by
7357 posts

A memorial that greatly moved me: seeing “Thank you America” scratched into the sand. While I’ve only been to one site, which I don’t recall as being mobbed with visitors back in 2008, I do want to share this. That site is the Normandy American Cemetery. We happened to be there on July 4 - it wasn’t planned that way, but it was just the day we were in the area, going from Belgium to places in France, having stayed in Bayeux the previous night.

At noon, there was an announcement, and the Star Spangled Banner was played. Everyone stopped out of respect, but it was clear that the majority of people there that day were not Americans. German, French, and a variety of other languages were being spoken. Lots of license plates in the parking lot had non-French identification, indicating that people from around Europe were paying a visit. That was moving.

Even more moving, though, was walking down to the beach from the cemetery, and seeing that “Thank you America” scratched into the sand. My sense is that was not something that somebody affiliated with the cemetery did daily for effect. If a U.S. citizen did that, it would be a strange, kind-of self serving gesture, and so I have to think it was a genuine expression of gratitude by some non-American who truly appreciated the efforts and sacrifices of Americans who fought and died in the effort to vanquish the Nazis, and end that war.

I understand that, for “safety” reasons, access to the beach from the cemetery was closed off in 2016, but I have to think that the appreciation for those Americans killed or wounded in European battles remains.

Here’s a link for the American Battle Monuments Commission, and their managed sites in Europe and elsewhere. Maybe some are less-visited than others. Apparently the Normandy cemetery now sees a million visitors annually. That’s surprising, and way more than I would’ve thought, but if that makes it “Overvisited,” I say people are there for a good reason. Never forget.

https://www.abmc.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/ABMC-Commemorative-Sites-Booklet_DEC2020.pdf

Posted by
908 posts

I don't know if it's under- or over-visited, but I thought the Animals in War Memorial in London was lovely.

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