Italy 1943–1945
Primosole Bridge, Simeto river
Bridge and memorial
The story
Scene of the battle between British and German paratroopers on 13–16 July. Holding this bridge meant opening the road to Catania; losing it cost Montgomery three weeks on the plain beyond. The fighting set British 'Red Devils' against German Fallschirmjäger in one of the first clashes between rival paratroops.
What to look for
The bridge on the SS114, the river banks where the paratroops dug in, and the memorials beside the road.
Plan your visit
Roadside on a busy highway; park only where safe. 55 km from Syracuse, about 45 min.
Nearby sites
- Catania War Cemetery, Catania · 7 km
- Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943, Catania · 13 km
- German War Cemetery, Motta Sant'Anastasia · 15 km
- Centuripe, Enna · 38 km
- Syracuse War Cemetery, Syracuse · 40 km
- Ponte Grande, Syracuse · 42 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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