Mausoleo Fosse Ardeatine

The Mausoleo Fosse Ardeatine (Fosse Ardeatine Mausoleum) commemorates the Fosse Ardeatine Massacre: the killing of 335 civilian residents of Rome by German SS forces under the command of German SIPO and SD Chief in Rome, Herbert Kappler on March 24, 1944. The massacre was carried out in retaliation for partisan attacks on German occupation forces, the Polizei Regiment Bozen on March 23, which result in the deaths of 33 German; the following day, German authorities begin rounding up civilians with the goal of executing ten Italians for each German death. The captives are transported to a local quarry and executed by firing squad; the bodies are deposited in the quarry pits.   

The mausoleum contains 356 tombs: one for each victim, and one to represent all the victims of German and fascist executions in Italy during the Second World War. A permanent exhibit displays records and provides the historical context for the German occupation of Rome and the events of the massacre. The mausoleum was inaugurated on March 24, 1949.