Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Puerto del Escudo – Italian memorial
Luena · Memorial
The story
The Escudo pass (about 1,000 m) carries the main road from Burgos to Santander over the Cantabrian range. When the Nationalist offensive on Santander opened on 14 August 1937, Italian CTV divisions attacked here. By 17 August they had taken the pass and linked up with other columns near San Miguel de Aguayo, encircling Republican units. The Santander front collapsed within days, and Santander fell on 26 August. Basque units surrendered to the Italians under the separate Santoña pact (24 August), which Franco did not honour. A pyramid-shaped memorial to the Italian dead still stands at the summit; the remains once kept there have since been moved.
What you can see today
A stone pyramid memorial beside the N-623 at the top of the pass, with wide mountain views.
Plan your visit
Pull in at the summit on the N-623 (Burgos–Santander). The road is often closed by snow in winter.
Sources
- geonames.org/search.html?q=Puerto+del+Escudo&country=ES
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escudo_Pass
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Santander
- es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacto_de_Santo%C3%B1a
Nearby sites
- Valdenoceda prison memorial · 31 km
- Santander air-raid shelter (Refugio Antiaéreo) · 47 km
- Palacio de la Isla, Burgos (Franco HQ) · 79 km
- Iron Belt Interpretation Centre, Berango · 80 km
- Artxanda – Iron Belt trenches & memorial · 82 km
- San Pedro de Cardeña monastery (International Brigades camp) · 85 km
All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →
The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The battlefields, trenches, ruined villages, shelters, museums and memorials of the Spanish Civil War across the whole of Spain, told fairly from both sides.
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