Saint Martin ossuary, Ossuary church in San Martino della Battaglia, Italy.

The Saint Martin ossuary is a chapel in Desenzano del Garda that houses human remains of soldiers arranged within a religious space. The display sits behind the altar and presents the remains in an organized manner within this small sacred building.

The ossuary was inaugurated on 24 June 1870, eleven years after the Battle of San Martino of 24 June 1859, a clash of the Second Italian War of Independence. It gathers 1,274 skulls and the bones of 2,619 soldiers of the Sardinian Army and of the VIII Corps of the Imperial Royal Austrian Army. The chapel belongs to the counts Treccani.

The ossuary occupies the chapel of the Treccani counts, and along the access avenue stand a series of small commemorative markers for the units that took part in the fighting. A plaque inside carries an epitaph for the fallen of both armies.

The ossuary stands beside the monumental tower and the Museum of the Risorgimento, in the hamlet of San Martino della Battaglia. A commemorative avenue lined with stone markers leads to the chapel entrance. The interior is compact, so allow time to read the epitaph and observe the three facade mosaics.

Thousands of skulls and bones were recovered from mass graves and arranged in a specific formation within the chapel. This collection provides a direct and solemn encounter with the scale of loss from this historical battle.