WW11 War Graves

These are the Canadian WW2 cemeteries in Italy: http://www.ww2f.com/wwii-general/37666-canadian-war-grave-cemetaries-italy-sicily.html These are the two American WW2 battlefield cemeteries in Italy: http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/maps/italym.htm

Thanks Kent, my father was there from the landing on Sicily in 43 till January of 45. What I mean is do those who travel to Italy make the effort to visit them, as visitors to France make the effort to go to the Normandy beaches?

There's a site that lists all the war cemeteries in Italy by region. I'll post the link when I find it. Whether or not people visit them....?

Hi Peter. My wife and I will be touring southern Italy this fall and, on our way back to Rome, plan on visiting the American Cemetery at Nettuno as well as the British Cemeteries at Anzio. I don't know if I am in a minority, but I would not pass by so many young men who died fighting for their country without stopping to honor their memory. That includes our allies. Tony

Both of my inlaws served in Italy and in fact were married in Naples near end of the war!!
Have been to the cemeteries at Anzio (actually Nettuno) and to Cassino. Both are worth a trip. Also a cemetery just south of Florence. Times we have been there they were few people around, which to some extent, actually added to the experience.

There's always a small handful of people when I visit military cemeteries in Italy. Although, I doubt many go out of their way to see them like they do at Normandy. But, it's pretty obvious why people go out of their way to see Normandy, everything else pales in comparison. Oh, and you do yourself a disservice if you just visit allied cemeteries. A lot of them are in close proximity to the allied ones and are obviously not very ornate...which invokes it's own emotional tale

I think you will see fewer crowds at the Italian sites than Normandy. In Normandy, the beaches and the magnitude of the event are really the draw, with the cemeteries being a fitting supplement. Other cemeteries in Europe will see visitors, just not the volume, though the American Cemetery in Luxembourg probably comes in second.

http://www.gentracer.org/cemeteriesregions.html

There is a cemetery outside of Florence that has casualties from the 10th Mountain Division who fought in the area during WWII. The veterans and descendents have organized reunions and make a point of visiting the cemetery.

They do a ceremony every Memorial Day at the American cemetary in Florence, both the Americans and Italian military have troops and VIPs participating. I had the honor of participating in one back in 2004.

I have also been to a Memorial Day service at the Florence American Cemetery - it was very moving. In general I don't think tourists visit these sites much, but family members do, and probably veterans. They certainly are more overlooked than other spots. As mentioned the American Battle Monuments site is the one to visit: http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/fl.php There is also a Commonwealth cemetery on the way out of Florence heading to Arezzo - http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=2036800&mode=1 And - something that goes under the radar of most - there are also Axis cemeteries - the one up in the Futa pass between Florence and Bologna really shows the folly of war - almost every German soldier there was a teenager. There are over 30,000 dead soldiers buried there. http://www.ww2museums.com/article/3436/German-War-Cemetery-Futa-Pass.htm

I visited the Rome-Sicily American Cemetery in Nettuno last year on either Memorial Day or the day before, and there were very few others at the cemetery, maybe 5 other cars in the parking lot. The cemetery itself was beautiful, and it was a very moving experience to see it, especially visiting my uncle's best friend's grave. There was going to be a large Memorial Day ceremony there with some US VIPs, but I don't know who the target audience for that was. Anyway, based on my one experience on what I would have expected to be a high-traffic day at the cemetery, no the cemeteries there don't seem to be destination sites like those elsewhere. Having said that, Nettuno was definitely off the beaten path, at least for drivers. I don't know if it's easier to get there by train, but it was a bit of a drive on a lot of back roads to get there on our way from Florence to Naples.

My wife and I are heading to Europe in 2 weeks. While 3 weeks is for law school the other 2 weeks are for seeing Italy and meeting the Italian family we have there...on the flip side of this coin we set aside a whole day just for the cemetery just outside of Florence. It means a lot to me as I am an OIF OEF vet to pay my respect to my fellow brothers in arms regardless of conflict. I want to one day head to Normandy but for now Florence will have to do. BTW is there anything in Salerno for the 82d Airborne and Operation Giant 2? Or anything for that matter for Operation Avalanche?

As others have said, not to the same degree. I accompanied my step father to the Commonwealth cemetery outside Florence on the banks of the Arno. We found the grave of his uncle after some searching. All kinds of Commonwealth nationalities from Canadians to Nepalese are buried there. A beautiful site and very moving. Mathew