This project was set up to bring together facts and events linked to the First World War. It is organised by the town councils of Spilimbergo and Dignano.
Tales of War. Pathways to Peace.
A project promoting a thematic itinerary through sites from the First World War in central Friuli.
The route starts at the existing bridge between Gradisca and Bonzicco, built by military engineers in the spring of 1915 and used by troops heading to the frontline, and again during the Battle of Caporetto. Along the route, the Madonna della Salute, safely guarded on the capital in the square, accompanied the young soldiers from both camps. Artist and writer Ardengo Soffici also found refuge within these walls during the defeat at Caporetto; at the time, he was the official in charge of defending the bridge, as he describes in his war diary “La Ritirata del Friuli”.
Also linked to the events of the time, the railway station in Spilimbergo survived. The “Posto di Conforto” help station for soldiers was located here, led by Anna Dianese, a volunteer nurse and Silver Medal holder with the Italian Red Cross, herself from Spilimbergo.
Among the military constructions we find: fortifications, lookout points, communication trenches and barricades, which can still be seen today along both banks, without forgetting the bell towers which served as excellent ‘broadcasting stations, lookout points and targets for cannons’.
The same applies to the cemetery in Gradisca for the unknown fallen soldiers from the invading army and the adjacent chapel where the gravestone of fallen serviceman Alfredo Calzolari Morelli can be found; the military ossuary in Spilimbergo; the former military hospital (now the community services centre); the convalescent home at the Bevilacqua military barracks; and the Lazaretto not far away. Then there is the air and naval station or the Istrago blimps shipyard; the former 2 Novembre military barracks in Tauriano; the Remembrance Park near the Ancona sanctuary; the monuments, memorial stones, and inscriptions, including the area in which the charge of the “Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo” regiment took place on 2 November 1918 in Tauriano, and the St John the Baptist memorial monument in Spilimbergo.
Thanks to the support from the regional government of Friuli Venezia Giulia, as part of the programme of events for the one hundred year anniversary since the start of the First World War, the itinerary has been equipped with explanatory signs and printed material.
Themed itineraries from the Great War around Spilimbergo
- Bonzicco bridge
- Memories of the bridge between Gradisca and Bonzicco
- The Battle of Caporetto
- Istrago blimps shipyard – 2 November 1918: the collision from above at the hangar in Istrago
- The charge of the “Cavalleggeri di Saluzzo” regiment on 2 November 1918 in Tauriano
- The former 2 Novembre military barracks in Tauriano
- The former military hospital
- The convalescent home at the Bevilacqua military barracks
- Anna Dianese, the Red Cross volunteer from Spilimbergo
- The Lazaretto
- Remembering the Great War through local street names
- Remembering the Great War through Gradisca’s street names
- Women in war
- Marco Ciriani
- Francesco Isola
- Don Vincenzo: Barbeano’s periodical, “Voce Amica”
- The military ossuary in Spilimbergo’s cemetery
- The St John the Baptist memorial monument in Spilimbergo
- The area of the cemetery in Gradisca for the unknown fallen soldiers from the invading army: Alfredo Calzolari Morelli and the unknown Austro-German soldiers
- The roll of honour of servicemen from Spilimbergo who died during the War 1915-18
For more information:
Tourist Information Office, Spilimbergo (+39 0427 2274) and Dignano town council (+39 0432 944911)
Tagliamento itinerary
- Museum of the Great War in Ragogna
Via Roma 23 – 33030 San Giacomo di Ragogna (Udine)
(+39) 0432 954078
- Journeys through the Battle of Pradis
Clauzetto town council
(+39) 0427 80323
- Monumental chapel for the Fallen; Delizia bridge
Loc. Ponte Tagliamento, Valvasone Arzene
- Magazine remains, 3rd blimps shipyard area, Railway station
Casarsa della Delizia town council
(+39) 0434 873911
- Command of the Austro-Hungarian army and of the Isonzo Armee, air-raid shelter, Epigraph
Palazzo Rota, San Vito al Tagliamento
San Vito al Tagliamento town council
(+39) 0434 842911
Photographs taken from the book “Spilimbergo e Dignano. La Grande Guerra. Uomini vicende e luoghi del Medio Tagliamento” published by Spilimbergo town council in May 2017.