Italy 1943–1945
Bark West beach, Maucini
Landing beach
The story
Where the 1st Canadian Infantry Division began Canada's part in the Italian campaign. The beach is almost unchanged: low dunes, shallow water and the offshore sandbars that grounded some landing craft. Royal Marine Commandos landed on the western sector, and the first Canadian steps on Italian soil were taken here.
What to look for
Walk the sand, find the Canadian flag, and look west along the Roger and Sugar sectors of the landing beach.
Plan your visit
Free, open beach; reached by minor roads from Pachino. Can be busy in summer.
Nearby sites
- Operation Husky monument, Pachino · 6 km
- Ponte Grande, Syracuse · 46 km
- Syracuse War Cemetery, Syracuse · 48 km
- 82nd Airborne memorial, Ponte Dirillo · 70 km
- Piano Lupo crossroads, near Gela · 75 km
- Primosole Bridge, Simeto river · 81 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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