Staglieno Cemetery, Commonwealth Plot, Military cemetery section in Staglieno, Italy.
The Commonwealth Plot at Staglieno Cemetery holds graves and memorials for soldiers from both world wars within this larger monumental cemetery. All headstones display engraved names, ranks, military units, and dates of death, organized in rows throughout the dedicated section.
This section was created to honor soldiers from multiple nations who died during the world wars. The landscape designer Louis de Soissons laid out the space, establishing it as a place where different countries could collectively remember their fallen.
The plot is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and its headstones follow the Commission's standard pattern: uniform size, regimental badges and, where families requested them, personal epitaphs. Visitors can also find the Stone of Remembrance and the Cross of Sacrifice, elements designed by Edwin Lutyens and Reginald Blomfield respectively, which mark Commonwealth war cemeteries worldwide.
The Commonwealth Plot lies within the monumental Staglieno Cemetery, uphill from the main entrance; allow time to walk through the older sections to reach it. The ground is terraced, with steps and gravel paths, so sturdy shoes help. Headstones face east, making morning light best for reading inscriptions.
The plot was laid out by Louis de Soissons, the architect and landscape designer who also planned Commonwealth cemeteries in Italy and Greece after the Second World War. His design places the headstones in level rows on terraces cut into the hillside above the main Staglieno cemetery, so the plot reads as a distinct enclosure within the larger grounds.
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