Austro-Hungarian Cemetery of Fogliano

Just one kilometre from the Redipuglia Shrine lies the Austro-Hungarian cemetery of Fogliano Redipuglia, which contains the remains of 14,550 soldiers who fell on the Isonzo Front. The site can easily be reached along State Road SS305 towards Fogliano, immediately beyond the civil cemetery.

Outside the cemetery, two inscriptions — one in Italian and one in German — recall that the site was restored in 1974 by the provincial government of Styria together with volunteers from the Styrian Youth Fire Brigades, before being reorganised in 1989 by the Austrian Black Cross. Above the entrance portal, the inscription *Im Leben und im Tode vereint* (“United in life and in death”) is clearly visible.

Inside, a long avenue lined with cypress trees leads to the large mass grave where 7,000 unknown soldiers are buried. Above it, another bilingual plaque pays tribute to the men who died for love of their homeland. The rest of the cemetery is marked by the graves of 2,550 identified soldiers, commemorated by small concrete markers. Near the boundary wall, close to the exit, two further mass graves contain the remains of 5,000 unidentified soldiers.