Italy 1943–1945
82nd Airborne memorial, Ponte Dirillo
Memorial
The story
The main American memorial to the Sicily campaign, beside the SS115 where it crosses the Acate (Dirillo) river. It lists paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne killed nearby; Biazza Ridge, where Gavin stopped the Tigers, is about three kilometres east. A ceremony is held here every July.
What to look for
The memorial tablet, the restored Italian bunkers of the Ponte Dirillo strongpoint, and the view east to Biazza Ridge.
Plan your visit
Free, open access by the SS115. Next: about 100 km (1 h 40 min) east to the Pachino peninsula.
Nearby sites
- Piano Lupo crossroads, near Gela · 5 km
- Gela seafront and pier, Gela · 14 km
- Landing beaches, Licata · 42 km
- Bark West beach, Maucini · 70 km
- Agira Canadian War Cemetery, Agira · 70 km
- Operation Husky monument, Pachino · 71 km
All 96 sites in Italy 1943–1945 →
Into Europe: Italy 1943–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The places of the Allied campaign in Italy, from the Sicily landings of July 1943 through Salerno, the Winter Line, Ortona, Cassino and Anzio, Rome, the Gothic Line and the final battles on the Senio and the Po in April 1945.
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