Palermo opens crypt for Sicilian war casualties

Last Updated: November 9, 2023

In occasion of the ceremony promoted by the provincial federation of the Mutilati association, Assofante, and the Nastro Azzurro institute, the crypt under the church of Santa Rosalia in via Marchese Ugo, managed by the congregation of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart, was opened to the public this morning. The crypt houses the shrine of the fallen in the first and second world wars, with the names of 1,700 Sicilians. The ceremony, attended by various civil, military, and religious authorities, honored and remembered the fallen. A plaque dedicated to the civilian victims of the 1943 bombings in Palermo was unveiled, and a wreath was laid in their memory. The crypt, designed by Ernesto Basile, contains the names of 1,700 Sicilians who died in World War I, including Manfredi and Ignazio Lanza, sons of Senator Pietro Lanza Branciforte and Giulia Florio Lanza, who led the fundraising for the crypt’s restoration. The ceremony concluded with a concert by the band of the 6th Bersaglieri Regiment of Trapani. In the video, Gianni Stucchi, president of the National Fanti Association, and Vincenzo Maniaci, president of the Palermo Fanti Federation are featured.