Whether you have been an enthusiast for years, or have just approached the history of the Great War, this information will be very useful if you decide to visit these museums. I have selected for you 10 Museums of Veneto, which particularly struck me, the relics, weapons and photographs you will find in these museums are more unique than rare.
Index
Museums on the Great War in Treviso:
Museo storico della Grande Guerra (1915-1918) – Maserada sul Piave, Treviso
In this museum you will find many war relics found in the municipal area, offering a realistic testimony of the life of soldiers and the technologies used on the battlefields. The museum is truly rich in objects; you can admire helmets, magazines, sabers, Italian, French, English, Austrian and German rifles. Highly appreciated are the unique objects in the museum, such as the Lewis light machine gun, equipment of the British Army, and the complete stick with boxes containing bullet belts for the Austro-Hungarian Schwarzlose machine gun.
Soldati della Battaglia – San Biagio di Callalta, Treviso
Museo Soldati della battaglia San Biagio
The shrine located a few hundred meters from the Piave River, sacred to the homeland, holds the remains of 10,541 fallen soldiers of World War I. The museum displays various types of weapons, uniforms, relics and documents of local history; the phrases written on the external facades are fascinating.
Museo la Scuola dei Bombardieri del Re – Santa Lucia di Piave, Treviso
An absolutely modern and noteworthy reality is “la Scuola dei Bombardieri del Re”; the museum is located on the site where the bomber school stood during the war period. Today you can visit the thematic exhibition and see the evolution of the Bombard in the Great War. Not to be missed, as inside it displays the Italian 400 mm bombard in all its majesty, donated to the school by the Turin Artillery Museum, it is the only specimen in the world.
Museums on the Great War in Belluno:
Museo della Grande Guerra in Marmolada – Rocca Pietore, Belluno
Located at 3000 m, the Marmolada hosts the highest museum in Europe; personally, another reason to visit it, the view is breathtaking. Inside the museum you can see weapons, bombs, uniforms and even steps used to climb these treacherous places. In one room of the museum, a unique multimedia and multisensory interactive path has been created, where the war is told by those who actually lived it.
Museo Storico del 7° Regimento Alpini – Sedico, Belluno
Located in the 19th-century Villa De Manzoni, you can admire documents, photos, relics from the various war sites where the 7th Alpini Regiment fought, as well as objects and documents relating to the Italo-Ethiopian wars and World War II, particularly from the western front and the Greek-Albanian front. Wonderful collections of photographs and documents from the Great War and the Ethiopian war. Of extreme value are the historical diaries and the rich collection of military postcards.
Museums on the Great War in Vicenza:
Museo della Grande Guerra Canove – Roana, Asiago (VI)
This museum offers a beautiful exhibition of well-arranged relics and some special pieces; among many, two grenades stand out, one 42 cm and the other 30.5 cm, Austrian complete with brass case, practically the largest artillery shells used on the Italian-Austrian front.
Museo delle Battaglie dei Tre Monti – Asiago, Vicenza
In this small museum we can rediscover relics of the “Three Mountains” battles that took place between Col del Rosso, Col d’Ecchele and Valbella, in the first months of 1918. Emerge testimonies of the presence of English and French troops on the plateau, who fought here after the defeat of Caporetto.
Museo Prima Armata – Valli del Pasubio, Vicenza
Let yourself be transported inside this museum, where in the “Hall of Heroes” they want to tell stories of people who gave their lives during the conflict. The multimedia room offers the opportunity, through a geographical model of the area and a laser pointer, to choose from over 30 sites, triggering information sheets, photos and related documents.
Museo della Vita del Soldato, Grande Guerra – Recoaro Terme, Vicenza
Among so many museums with displayed weapons, bombs, uniforms and various relics, this museum stands out for its uniqueness. The historical museum “La vita del Soldato” offers one of the most interesting existing exhibitions, regarding non-strictly military history. It is a museum dedicated to the objects of daily life of soldiers in the trenches, of those who fought among the peaks of the Little Dolomites, truly very touching.
Museums on the Great War in Padua:
Museo Terza Armata – Padova
It is located in Palazzo Camerini, a fine collection of weapons, uniforms and relics collected, showing the living conditions of soldiers of the time. Of great importance and uniqueness, the CARTOGRAPHIC documentation; these are maps at a scale of 1:100,000 and more, which were hand-drawn and colored with pastels, then delivered every morning to the command of the Third Army.
Author: Mirko Maren
