Monumento ai Caduti della Divisione Acqui

The monument to the fallen of the Acqui Division stands in a small garden beside Corso Bagni in Acqui Terme. Its pale marble and relief figures bring the memory of the soldiers lost at Cefalonia and Corfu in September 1943 into the town's everyday landscape.

Why it matters

The division carried the name of Acqui, giving the town a particular connection with its wartime fate. After the Italian armistice of 8 September 1943, its troops on the Greek islands faced German demands to disarm. Resistance was followed by surrender, killings of prisoners and deportation. The memorial preserves that history as an act of civic mourning.

What to notice

The rough surface and irregular form of the marble contrast with the human figures carved in relief. Their suffering is the centre of the sculptural composition. The inscription names the Acqui Division, Cefalonia and Corfu, anchoring the memorial to the places and events it commemorates. Its garden setting gives this remembrance a presence within the public life of the town.

Context and history

The monument was placed in 1967, more than two decades after the events. The losses commemorated include the violence following the fighting and the fate of men transported into captivity. Rather than a general memorial to the Second World War, it recalls the specific experience of the Acqui Division and the enduring relationship between the town and the unit that bore its name.