Orvieto War Cemetery
- Country Italy
- Total identified casualties 188 Find these casualties
- Identified casualties from Second World War
- GPS Coordinates Latitude: 42.72657, Longitude: 12.15013
Location information
Orvieto War Cemetery lies in the Commune of Orvieto in the Province of Terni. Take the autostrada A1, Rome-Milan and come off at Orvieto. Head towards the centre of the town and a CWGC sign will be found pointing to the right. To reach the cemetery from Orvieto the Perugia road is taken. At the fork just beyond the River Paglia bear right along the road to Todi. Forty metres down this road a country lane will be seen on the right. Turn down this lane and in just a little more than one kilometre the cemetery will be seen in a depression in the hills on the left. A farm track leads to it. Cemetery address: Cippo dei Sette Martiri, 113 - 5019 Ciconia Orvieto (TR) Umbria. GPS Co-ordinates: Latitude: 42.726389, Longitude: 12.150000.
Visiting information
ARRIVAL
All routes to the cemetery are signposted. Access to the cemetery is at the end of a single-track lane which branches off the main road between Perugia and Orvieto.
PARKING
The parking area is on the edge of a farmyard with space for up to 3 vehicles. It is marked with white kerb stones.
ACCESS, LAYOUT AND MAIN ENTRANCE
The cemetery is a rectangular shape.
All internal routes within the cemetery are steep, the cemetery is constructed on a steep hill in a small valley.
From the parking area a flagstone track with steps leads up a slope to the main entrance, the route is up a steep hillside. Inclined pathways are separated by steps leading to the entrance.
There is double metal gate at the main entrance, approximately 1.5 metres wide.
The Register Box is in an open shelter building, up a steep staircase from the main entrance, leading to the grassed area of the cemetery. There is an additional step up into the shelter building.
There are steep stone steps leading up into the cemetery from the main entrance and towards to top left of the cemetery leading to the Cross of Sacrifice, with a level area on the steps constructed from rounded exposed stones, creating an uneven surface.
There are two stone benches located at the top of the cemetery, next to the Cross of Sacrifice.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The cemetery is permanently open.
History information
On 3 September 1943 the Allies invaded the Italian mainland, the invasion coinciding with an armistice made with the Italians who then re-entered the war on the Allied side.
Progress through southern Italy was rapid despite stiff resistance, but the advance was checked for some months at the German winter defensive position known as the Gustav Line. The line eventually fell in May 1944 and as the Germans fell back, Rome was taken by the Allies on 3 June.
This cemetery was established as a battlefield cemetery by the 78th Division in the middle of June 1944, during the first heavy fighting north of Rome. The burials, with only one exception, date from the period 14 June-4 July 1944.
Orvieto War Cemetery contains 190 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 2 of which are unidentified. It was designed by Louis de Soissons