Italy 1943–1945
Moro River Canadian War Cemetery, San Donato
CWGC war cemetery
The story
The heart of any Canadian visit to Italy. Of its 1,615 graves, 1,375 are Canadian, most from the December 1943 battles for the Moro, the Gully and Ortona. It stands on high ground between the river and the town, above the sea, close to where the fighting happened.
What to look for
Walk the terraces of maple-leaf headstones; look north to Ortona and south to the Moro valley.
Plan your visit
Open access (CWGC) · Strada San Donato, south of Ortona
- Open
- Permanently open; may be visited at any time
- Access
- Wheelchair access via an alternative entrance
Checked September 2026 from official sources: cwgc.org. Things change, so check before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, Ortona · 2 km
- Ortona old town and MUBA battle museum · 2 km
- Casa Berardi, Contrada Alboreto (Ortona) · 3 km
- Sangro River War Cemetery, Torino di Sangro · 16 km
- French Military Cemetery, Venafro · 99 km
- German War Cemetery, Caira · 102 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