| The largest ossuary of Italian soldiers killed during World War I in Slovenia is arranged at the Church of St. Anthony of Padua (sv. Anton Padovanski), on a slope below the sanctuary at Grič above Kobarid. An asphalt road leads to the ossuary. The road is marked by the Stations of the Cross, which begin behind the portal by the main square of Kobarid. On the ridge of the hill is a plain, and higher up stairs rise between the stone arcades, leading to individual terraces shaped into an octagon. Towards the top they narrow into a pyramid shape. On two terraces in individual sections there are niches with the posthumous remains of fallen Italian soldiers. They are sealed by slabs of green marble, engraved with the name, military rank and any medals of each individual fallen soldier.
East of the church there are four military tombstones transferred from the cemetery in Bovec. The ossuary originates from the years of the systematic Italian arrangement of military cemeteries and is the only one in Slovenia; the Italians moved all the other posthumous remains to the ossuary of Sredpolje (Redipuglia) and Oslavje. The ossuary was designed by the architect Giovanni Greppi, and the sculptures were made by the sculptor Giannino Castiglioni. The ceremonious opening on 18th September 1938 was attended by Benito Mussolini. In the ossuary lie the posthumous remains of 7760 (7014 - inscription on the left side of the parking place) soldiers (of those, 2748 unknown). The fallen were transported from military cemeteries in the Posočje area (Drežnica, Drežniške Ravne, Gabrje, Kamno, Smast, Bovec). The remains of unknown soldiers are clustered in groups of 500 and arranged under the arches on both sides under the central staircases. |