The Mausoleum of the Italians

At the top of the Puerto del Escudo (Pass of the Shield), in the border between Burgos and Cantabria, we found this strange monument built as the final resting place for the Italian soldiers fallen during the Spanish Civil War in that place.


The Italian CTV (Corpo Truppe Volontarie) attacked the Puerto del Escudo in 1937, during the National offensive against Santander. The attack was eventually successful, but the Italians sustained hundreds of casualties.

In order to bury the fallen and conmemorate the battle, Franco ordered to build a twenty meters high step pyramid in 1939, with more than 300 niches inside.

The "M" at the entrance honours Benito Mussolini. As we can see, a wall was built to block the entrance, but there is a hole in it, so it is possible to enter the pyramid. Just behind the wall there is a metallic door.

Inscription above the Mausoleum´s entrance

Inside, we found the 360 niches for the soldiers, now empty since the reamins were repatriated to Italy in the 70´s. In the basement there are 12 more niches for the high ranked officials, but it is impossible to enter there. One of the ladders has dissapeared, and the basement itself is full of debris.



Altar in front of the niches

Entrance to the basement

The Ebro Reservoir seen from the Mausoleum.

Nowadays the Mausoleum is inside a private property, behind a barbed wire fence.