Monument to the soldiers on land and at sea, Statue in Venice, Italy
The Monument aux soldats de terre et de mer, known as the Partigiana, is a bronze statue on the waterfront in Venice, between two boat stops near the Giardini and the Biennale area. The figure lies partly submerged in the water, surrounded by stone slabs designed by architect Paolo Scarpa.
The monument was created after the German occupation of Venice during the Second World War to honor the women who fought in the resistance. The first version, made by Leoncillo Leonardi in 1957, was destroyed by a fascist group in 1961, and the current bronze version by Augusto Murer was installed in 1969.
The Partigiana statue shows a woman lying in the water, hands tied behind her back, as if sinking into the lagoon. The artist Augusto Murer intended viewers to look up at her from below, as though she were floating or drifting under the surface.
The monument sits on the waterfront near the Giardini boat stops and is easy to reach on foot from that area. The stone steps around the statue are no longer open to visitors, so the figure can only be seen from a distance.
The first version of the statue wore a red scarf, which was considered too strong a symbol and was replaced with a brown one. The original red-scarf version was saved and is now kept in the Ca' Pesaro museum, where it can still be seen today.
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