SICILY ON WEB

Recently, I have learned there are also people who love to visit cemeteries. I don’t’ think they are mad or or foolish or rather affected from a perversion known as necrophilia, I think they like cemeteries because they are real historical monuments and above all because they are also the most silent and quiet places to visit during a journey. Since I am speaking about places and monuments to visit in Sicily, I want to introduce to you one the most important cemeteries of Sicily. That is the British war cemetery placed in the city of Catania.

This is one of three war cemeteries that are in Sicily. The other two are in Syracuse and Agira, in the district of Enna. The British war cemetery of Catania contains over 2000 burials that house the corpses of the British soldiers who died during the final stage of the Second World War. I believe you must visit this cemetery because you can also find back one of your far relatives you lost during that war. The British war cemetery of Catania is placed on the southwest area in this city. This place can be reached from the Airport and following the main road called tangential, toward the highway A19 that leads to Palermo. You can see the signposts of the cemetery just before reaching the highway A19.

The British war cemetery of Catania is regarded as one that has the most beautiful lawn of Sicily. The graves are typically in British and American style, laid on the ground, with white crosses and likewise white and shimmering tombstones. The main entrance of the cemetery was locked because of litter and thieveries. To prevent the guest books and visitor registers were stolen by thieves, it was also added a gate. To gain access to this gate, you need a padlock. You can have the padlock only during the working hours of the gardeners. You can find the gardeners in the following hours: 8:00am to 12:00pm and 1:00pm to 3:30pm in the winter and 7:30am to12: 00pm and 1:00pm to 4:00pm in the summer.

The cemetery can be also visited by car, if the gardeners verify your identity and papers, but it is easier you can access on foot. As I said above, the cemetery was built in memory of the soldiers who died in Sicily in the Second World War. This war cemetery has 2,142 graves, whose 113 are British, 12 Canadian, one Polish and the others unknown. The most of these soldiers were members of the U.K Royal Air Force. In July 1943, when the Allies landed in Sicily to defend this region from the firm and stubborn German resistance, the death toll was very high.

The Italian forces couldn’t help allies and German soldiers prevailed against the allies troupes, although they were anyway defeated at the end of the war campaign in Sicily.  This mission or military campaign ended on August 17, 1943, when the Allies arrived in Messina but failed to cut off the retreating Axis lines. For those who lost their lives because of the war, the cemetery of Catania is and will be an eternal tribute. I assure that you’ll live an unforgettable spiritual experience in this war cemetery.

There is silence in this place, sometimes a bit of wind, and when this happens, you can sense as if a spirit strokes your face to greet you and ask to pray for him. No, there aren’t ghosts in the war cemetery, but only the graves of the war heroes that ask us to be remembered forever as a symbol of peace and against every war. For more information about how to visit the British war cemetery of Catania, you can also see the official website of the CWGC, namely the commonwealth war graves Commission.  In this website, you can also type the name of people and relatives you lost during the war in order to detect and visit their grave.

Sources ot the images: www.wikisicily.com/catania/galleria.php and www.cwgc.org.

Rosalba Mancuso

Rosalba Mancuso is a freelance journalist born in Sicily. Passionate about her loved island and with extensive writing experience, Rosalba worked as a contributor to the main Sicily’s newspapers and as a bilingual Italian – English writer. Thanks to her skills, she also founded four websites in English. On Sicilyonweb, Rosalba tells every corner of her beloved Sicily. Furthermore, she writes this blog thanks to your help. Rosalba, in fact, earns a small commission, with no cost for you, when you book your travel or buy products through the affiliate widgets or links you find in her posts.