Palestro PV

Memorial of the Battle of Palestro

On May 28, 1887, the town council of Palestro decided to erect a monument in honor of the fallen soldiers of the Piedmontese, French, and Austrian forces in the battle fought on May 30 and 31, 1859, during the Second Italian War of Independence. In 1891, through a national competition, the project by architect Giuseppe Sommaruga was selected, who later became an important exponent of Italian Liberty style. The ossuary monument, approximately 23 meters high, is situated on a small hill at the western entrance of Palestro, coming from Vercelli. The structure rests on a square base with three steps made of local stone. The upper part of the monument is built of masonry and is decorated with bronze, mosaics, and enamelled ceramics. It culminates in a pyramidal dome with an obelisk at its peak. At the base of the obelisk, the year 1859 of the battle is engraved in Roman numerals (MDCCCLIX), and at the top stands a bronze eagle in flight. Additionally, on the four sides of the building, the mosaics commemorate the names of the three main battle sites: Palestro, Confienza, and Vinzaglio. Inside the Memorial, the polychrome stuccos are embellished with shiny, transparent glass tiles, creating a marble effect.