Cimitero degli Inglesi di Argenta

Argenta Gap War Cemetery holds 625 Commonwealth burials from the Second World War, eight unidentified. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records the cemetery among the sites associated with the final fighting in Italy in spring 1945.

Why it matters

The cemetery commemorates soldiers killed in the battle of the Argenta Gap and the amphibious operations around the Comacchio lagoons in April 1945. The 78th Division selected this ground for battlefield burials; after the war, further graves from the surrounding district were concentrated here. The cemetery’s design is by the British architect Louis de Soissons.

What to notice

Rows of headstones and the register of names give the cemetery its quiet form. The units recorded on the stones connect individual graves to the forces that fought in the Argenta Gap and along the lagoon. Nearby, Argenta’s communal burial ground recalls the town’s civilian losses: residents returned on 18 April 1945 to find the town’s cemeteries damaged by bombing.

Context and history

The cemetery belongs to the last Allied offensive in Italy. Fighting in April 1945 broke through the German line at the Argenta Gap and opened the route toward the Po. The cemetery began with battlefield burials and later grew as graves from the district were brought together here. It is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.