82:, the only person aware of his real identity, of his passing. Antonio Bergamas was therefore recognized and buried, along with others who fell in battle, in the wartime cemetery of Marcesina, on the Sette Comuni plateau. However, following intense bombing, the burial site was destroyed, with Bergamas and the others who had been buried alongside him officially declared missing.
90:, the woman was placed in front of the eleven lined-up coffins: after examining some of the corpses, Bergamas was unable to continue and collapsed on the ground in front of the tenth corpse, lamenting the loss of her own son. The body she fell in front of was therefore chosen to be the Unknown Soldier.
104:
According to the testimony of
Bergamas’ daughter Anna, the woman was previously determined to choose the eighth or ninth corpses, since those were the numbers that recalled the birth and death of her son Antonio; but when she came before the coffins she felt a sense of shame, and since nothing
206:
85:
After the war, Antonio’s mother Maria was asked to choose the body of a soldier from eleven corpses of unidentified fallen servicemen, gathered from different areas of the front. On
October 28, 1921, in the
228:
66:. In 1916 Antonio defected, fled to Italy, and volunteered in the 137th Infantry Regiment of the Barletta Brigade under the name of Antonio Bontempelli, a false identity used by the
78:, on 16 June 1916, Antonio was killed by a barrage from a machine gun. After the battle, a note was found in his pocket in which he begged to inform the mayor of
266:
180:
87:
276:
271:
127:
94:
31:; 23 January 1867 – 22 December 1953) was an Italian woman who was chosen to represent all Italian mothers who had lost a son during
108:
Bergamas died in
Trieste on 22 December 1953. The following year, on 3 November 1954, her body was exhumed and buried in the
105:
reminded her son, she chose the tenth so that the corpse that would go to Rome could truly be a completely unknown soldier.
184:
79:
75:
63:
158:
261:
256:
44:
146:
98:
71:
67:
121:
27:
59:
124:, the American soldier who chose the body of unknown soldier of United States of America.
74:
among its ranks. While leading an attack of his platoon, during a fight at the foot of
250:
112:
of
Aquileia behind the basilica, near the bodies of the other 10 unknown soldiers.
109:
52:
32:
101:, in memory of the War’s victims. The ceremony took place on 4 November 1921.
58:
At the time, both
Gradisca d'Isonzo and Trieste were an integral part of the
51:, where she had moved in her youth, and where she resided at the outbreak of
207:"In ricordo del Milite Ignoto e di Maria Bergamas a Gradisca di Isonzo"
48:
229:"Le salme senza nome di Aquileia simbolo emozionante della guerra"
43:Maria Bergamas was born on 23 January 1867 in
8:
93:The unidentified body was placed inside the
62:, so her son Antonio was drafted into the
139:
26:
7:
267:People from the Province of Gorizia
128:Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Italy)
14:
35:not knowing where he was buried.
16:Chose the Italian Unknown Soldier
95:Monument to the Unknown Soldier
1:
159:"La storia del Milite Ignoto"
183:(in Italian). Archived from
277:People from Austria-Hungary
293:
272:20th-century Italian women
181:"Storia del Milite Ignoto"
28:[maˈriːaberɡaˈmas]
80:San Giovanni al Natisone
76:Monte Cimone di Tonezza
60:Austro-Hungarian Empire
24:Italian pronunciation:
88:Basilica of Aquileia
187:on 22 February 2016
99:Altare della Patria
68:Royal Italian Army
122:Edward F. Younger
45:Gradisca d'Isonzo
284:
241:
240:
238:
236:
225:
219:
218:
216:
214:
203:
197:
196:
194:
192:
177:
171:
170:
168:
166:
155:
149:
144:
30:
25:
292:
291:
287:
286:
285:
283:
282:
281:
247:
246:
245:
244:
234:
232:
227:
226:
222:
212:
210:
205:
204:
200:
190:
188:
179:
178:
174:
164:
162:
157:
156:
152:
145:
141:
136:
118:
70:to accommodate
41:
23:
17:
12:
11:
5:
290:
288:
280:
279:
274:
269:
264:
259:
249:
248:
243:
242:
220:
198:
172:
150:
138:
137:
135:
132:
131:
130:
125:
117:
114:
40:
37:
20:Maria Bergamas
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
289:
278:
275:
273:
270:
268:
265:
263:
260:
258:
255:
254:
252:
230:
224:
221:
208:
202:
199:
186:
182:
176:
173:
160:
154:
151:
148:
143:
140:
133:
129:
126:
123:
120:
119:
115:
113:
111:
106:
102:
100:
96:
91:
89:
83:
81:
77:
73:
69:
65:
64:Austrian army
61:
56:
54:
50:
47:and lived in
46:
38:
36:
34:
29:
21:
233:. Retrieved
231:(in Italian)
223:
211:. Retrieved
209:(in Italian)
201:
189:. Retrieved
185:the original
175:
163:. Retrieved
161:(in Italian)
153:
142:
110:war cemetery
107:
103:
92:
84:
72:irredentists
57:
42:
19:
18:
262:1952 deaths
257:1867 births
191:14 February
53:World War I
33:World War I
251:Categories
134:References
235:3 October
213:3 October
165:3 October
147:Bergamas
116:See also
49:Trieste
237:2019
215:2019
193:2016
167:2019
39:Life
97:at
253::
55:.
239:.
217:.
195:.
169:.
22:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.