The inauguration ceremony of the Monument erected in the honor of the Romanian soldiers who died during World War I and were buried on the territory of the Italian Republic took place on Monday, 20 June, in the Italian Military Cemetery from Bolzano locality, in the presence of the Minister of National Defence, Vasile Dincu.

The ceremony was attended by the Romanian Ambassador to the Italian Republic, Gabriela Dancau, chiefs of central structures of the two defence ministries and representatives of central structures from Bolzano.

A detachment of soldiers of the 30th Guard Regiment Mihai Viteazul and the Military Music presented the honor during the ceremony, while a sobor of Romanian military priests performed the religious service to consecrate the commemorative work honoring the deceased soldiers.

The two defence ministers laid wreaths in the memory of the Romanian and Italian heroes buried in the cemetery.

The Romanian war commemorative monument was erected as part of a construction project developed throughout year 2021 by the Ministry of National Defence, through the National Office for the Heroes' Cult with the support of the Italian Republic's Ministry of Defence, through the General Commissariat for the Honoring of the War Heroes.


In his speech, Minister Vasile Dincu emphasized the fact that freedom is our most precious thing and we are obliged to eternalize the memory of the sacrifices made and prevent these tragic events from happening. The past and the sacrifices' commemoration during today's ceremony do not merely stand for a simple ceremony but for a testimony of the fact that the legacy left by the heroes of those times must be respected and transmitted to the future generations.


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The Romanian war commemorative monument was erected as part of a construction project developed throughout year 2021 by the Ministry of National Defence, through the National Office for the Heroes' Cult with the support of the Italian Republic's Ministry of Defence, through the General Commissariat for the Honoring of the War Heroes.

The commemorative project initiated by the Romanian party, was developed in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of the Italian Republic, signed at Bucharest, on 9 July 2015. Its finalization led to the organization of commemorative events and individual gestures meant to honor the sacrifice made by the Romanian soldiers during World War I.

The monument is made of monobloc marble and embodies, in an artistic manner, the Latin cross. A bas-relief is applied in the center of the monument carrying the Memorial mark on it as well as the inscriptions 1916-1919, In the memory of the Romanian heroes deceased at Bolzano (in the Romanian and Italian languages) and The National Office for the Heroes' Cult 2021 (in the Romanian language).

The commemorative project is part of the series of projects and activities initiated by the Romanian party in the context of marking World War I Centenary, whose goal was to eternalize the memory of the sacrifice made by the Romanian soldiers during the National Unification War, both in our national conscience and abroad. 1189 Romanian soldiers who lost their lives on the Italian territory were identified in the archives, 55 of which are buried at Bolzano.

The Press Office