Mausoleo dei 40 Martiri

The Mausoleum of the Forty Martyrs in Gubbio commemorates forty civilians killed by German occupation troops on 22 June 1944. The stone memorial stands at the site of the massacre and contains the victims' graves.

Why it matters

The mausoleum preserves a central memory of the Second World War in Gubbio. Created through the efforts of the community and the victims' families, it gives remembrance a permanent place in the city.

What to notice

Pietro Frenguelli's design uses roughly finished limestone from Cagli. Three recessed arches form the entrance front, while buttresses and pointed interior arches emphasise the building's restrained structure. An iron-and-alabaster rose window lights the single nave. Marble grave slabs line the interior, and the nearby execution wall preserves bullet marks.

Context and history

The killings followed a partisan attack on German officers and the subsequent seizure of civilian hostages. Forty people, including two women, were executed at dawn on 22 June. Construction of the mausoleum began in 1947; it was consecrated and inaugurated in 1949, on the fifth anniversary of the massacre.