About Sicily-Rome American Cemetery

Overview

The World War II Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial site in Italy covers 77 acres, rising in a gentle slope from a broad pool with an island and cenotaph flanked by groups of Italian cypress trees.

Beyond the pool is the immense field almost 7,900 headstones for American military war dead, arranged in gentle arcs on broad green lawns beneath rows of Roman pines. The majority of these individuals died in the liberation of Sicily (July 10 to Aug. 17, 1943); in the landings in the Salerno Area (Sept. 9, 1943) and the heavy fighting northward; in the landings at Anzio Beach and expansion of the beachhead (Jan. 22 to May 1944); and in air and naval support in the regions.

A wide central mall leads to the memorial, rich in works of art and architecture, expressing America’s remembrance of the dead. It consists of a chapel to the south, a peristyle, and a map room to the north. On the white marble walls of the chapel are engraved the names of almost 3,100 of the missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. The map room contains a bronze relief map and four fresco maps depicting the military operations in Sicily and Italy. At each end of the memorial are ornamental Italian gardens.

A 2,500-square-foot center visitor center opened in May 2014. Through interpretive exhibits that incorporate personal stories, photographs, films, and interactive displays, visitors gain a better understanding of this critical campaign that contributed to the Allied victory in Europe during World War II.