Italy 1943–1945
German War Cemetery, Motta Sant'Anastasia
War cemetery (Volksbund)
The story
The German war cemetery for Sicily: 4,561 dead, 451 of them unidentified, in a walled vault building at the foot of Etna. Among them is Luz Long, the long jumper who befriended Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics. Most of the dead were very young.
What to look for
The five raised courtyards, four of them named after Sicilian provinces, the comrades' grave in the first courtyard and the bronze figure of a dying youth.
Plan your visit
Free. Apr–Sep 08:00–18:00; Mar, Oct, Nov 08:00–17:00; Dec–Feb 09:00–16:00 (Volksbund). Check before you go.
- Open
- Apr–Sep daily 08:00–18:00; Dec–Feb daily 09:00–16:00
- Parking
- Cemetery car park, with reception building and register of the dead beside it
Checked September 2026 from official sources: kriegsgraeberstaetten.volksbund.de, volksbund.de. Things change, so check before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Catania War Cemetery, Catania · 8 km
- Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943, Catania · 10 km
- Primosole Bridge, Simeto river · 15 km
- Centuripe, Enna · 25 km
- Agira Canadian War Cemetery, Agira · 41 km
- Robert Capa Photography Museum, Troina · 45 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.
Open the guide