Italy 1943–1945
Monte Cassino & Anzio sites to visit
From January to May 1944 the Allies fought four battles to break the Gustav Line at Cassino. The abbey of Monte Cassino was destroyed by Allied bombing on 15 February 1944, and Polish troops finally raised their flag over the ruins on 18 May.
On 22 January 1944 Allied troops also landed at Anzio and Nettuno, behind the German line. The beachhead was penned in for four months before the breakout in May, and Rome was entered on 4 June 1944. Below are the places from our free Into Europe guide at Cassino, Anzio and Rome.
Cassino & the GariglianoAnzio & Rome
Cassino & the Garigliano
36th Division memorials and the Rapido, Sant'Angelo in Theodice
Memorial and battlefield · allow 1 h
The most painful American site of the campaign. On this bluff the Germans watched the Texas Division try to cross the river below on 20–22 January 1944.
Abbey of Monte Cassino
Abbey · allow 1 h 45 min
Founded by Saint Benedict around 529, destroyed on 15 February 1944 and rebuilt 'where it was, as it was', the abbey is the reason Cassino is famous. Its bombing remains the most argued-over act of the Italian campaign.
Cassino War Cemetery and Memorial
War cemetery (Commonwealth) · allow 1 h
The largest Commonwealth cemetery in Italy: 4,271 graves, with the Cassino Memorial naming more than 4,000 soldiers of the Italian campaign who have no known grave.
French Military Cemetery, Venafro
War cemetery (French) · allow 45 min
The largest French war cemetery in Italy, with the graves of between about 3,400 and over 5,000 soldiers (sources differ, partly because graves from Naples were moved here in 1990–91) of the French Expeditionary Corps, many of…
Garigliano crossing and Real Ferdinando bridge, Minturno
Battlefield · allow 45 min
This is where the Via Appia crosses the Garigliano, the western anchor of the Gustav Line. The Germans blew up the 1832 iron suspension bridge in autumn 1943; British engineers bridged the river under fire in January 1944.
German War Cemetery, Caira
War cemetery (German) · allow 45 min
About 20,000 German soldiers who died in southern Italy lie on the terraced slope of Colle Marino, gathered here from many field graves in 1959–60. The paratroopers who held Cassino are among them.
Historiale museum, Cassino
Museum · allow 1 h
Opened in 2004 for the battle's 60th anniversary, the Historiale is Cassino's own multimedia museum, with rooms designed by the Oscar-winning effects artist Carlo Rambaldi.
Minturno War Cemetery, Marina di Minturno
War cemetery (Commonwealth) · allow 45 min
More than 2,000 Commonwealth soldiers lie here, most of them killed in the crossing of the Garigliano in January 1944 and in the fighting for the hills beyond.
Monte Maio and the Aurunci mountains, near Ausonia
Viewpoint · allow 30 min
The French breakthrough of 13–16 May 1944 happened in these mountains, which the Germans thought too rugged for a major attack. It unlocked the whole Gustav Line.
Museo Linea Gustav, Castelforte
Museum · allow 1 h
A small volunteer-run museum in a town that was almost wiped out. The British 56th Division fought at its gates in January 1944, and the French took it in May.
Point 593 memorial, Monte Cassino
Battlefield and memorial · allow 45 min
The white cross on Point 593 marks the summit that the US 34th Division, the 4th Indian Division and finally the Poles fought over from January to May 1944.
Polish War Cemetery and Memorial Museum, Monte Cassino
War cemetery (Polish) and museum · allow 1 h
More than 1,000 soldiers of General Anders' Polish II Corps lie in this amphitheatre-shaped cemetery facing the abbey; Anders himself was buried among them in 1970.
Rocca Janula (Castle Hill), Cassino
Castle and battlefield · allow 45 min
This medieval castle above the town was taken by New Zealanders on 15 March 1944 and held by the 1/4th Essex Regiment and others against fierce counter-attacks.
Anzio & Rome
Anzio War Cemetery
War cemetery (Commonwealth) · allow 30 min
A smaller Commonwealth cemetery of 1,056 graves on the edge of Anzio, begun just after the landings. Many here were killed in the first weeks: the landing, the advance on Campoleone and the fighting round the Factory.
Aprilia ('the Factory') and the Via Anziate
Battlefield · allow 30 min
The centre of the February fighting. Aprilia was a Fascist new town founded in 1936; its tower and buildings became the German strongpoint called 'the Factory'.
Beach Head War Cemetery, Anzio
War cemetery (Commonwealth) · allow 45 min
2,316 Commonwealth soldiers lie here, most killed in the defensive battles of February and March 1944 along the Via Anziate. Most are British, with Canadians, South Africans, Australians, Indians and New Zealanders among them.
Mausoleo delle Fosse Ardeatine, Rome
Memorial and museum · allow 1 h 15 min
Italy's national memorial to the 335 victims of 24 March 1944, opened in 1949 on the site of the massacre.
Museo dello Sbarco Alleato, Forte Sangallo, Nettuno
Museum · allow 45 min
Inside a Renaissance fort built in 1501 on the Nettuno seafront, this museum of the Allied landing displays uniforms, helmets, documents, photographs and material found around Anzio and Nettuno.
Museo dello Sbarco di Anzio (Villa Adele)
Museum · allow 1 h
The town's landing museum, opened for the 50th anniversary, with American, British, German and Italian sections: uniforms, weapons, documents, maps and objects raised from the sea, including from the British cruiser HMS Spartan…
Museo storico della Liberazione, Via Tasso
Museum · allow 1 h 15 min
The building where Herbert Kappler's security police imprisoned and tortured some 2,000 people during the occupation, among them many of the Fosse Ardeatine victims.
Piana delle Orme museum, near Latina
Museum · allow 2 h
A huge private museum of 20th-century life in the Pontine plain, with large pavilions on the Second World War: dioramas of the Anzio landing and Cassino, and a big collection of vehicles.
Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome
Liberation site · allow 20 min
On 5 June 1944, the morning after American troops entered Rome, General Mark Clark held his famous press conference on the Capitoline Hill.
Porta San Paolo, Rome
Battle site and memorial · allow 30 min
On 10 September 1943, two days after the armistice, Italian soldiers and armed civilians fought German troops at this Roman gate in a last attempt to keep them out of the city.
Portico d'Ottavia and the Jewish Ghetto
Memorial site · allow 30 min
Before dawn on 16 October 1943 German police rounded up 1,259 people in Rome, most of them here in the old Ghetto; 1,023 were deported to Auschwitz, and only 16 came back.
Rangers memorial, Isola Bella near Cisterna
Memorial · allow 20 min
A roadside marker and a 'Via dei Rangers' sign recall the destruction of two US Ranger battalions on 30 January 1944.
Rome War Cemetery, Testaccio
War cemetery (Commonwealth) · allow 30 min
A small, walled Commonwealth cemetery of 426 graves, used mainly for the garrison after the liberation, with some soldiers and airmen who died as prisoners in Rome.
Sicily–Rome American Cemetery and Memorial, Nettuno
War cemetery (American) · allow 1 h 15 min
7,858 Americans lie here, killed from Sicily to just north of Rome, with 3,095 names of the missing on the chapel walls. The site is on ground captured by the US 3rd Division on 22 January.
Via Rasella, Rome
Resistance site · allow 20 min
Here on 23 March 1944 partisans of the GAP set off a bomb hidden in a rubbish cart as a column of the German police regiment 'Bozen' marched past. Thirty-three policemen and several civilians died.
Questions
How many places are there to visit?
This page lists 28 places from the free Into Europe: the Allied campaign in Italy guide, each with its story, what you can see today, how to visit and GPS directions.
How much time do I need?
Allowing the suggested time at each place adds up to about 24 hours on site, plus driving between them. Plan on about 5 days to see everything, or pick the places that matter most to you. The guide's tour planner puts any selection in driving order.
Do I need to book?
Most places can be visited without booking. 4 of them need booking or can only be seen on a guided visit; they are marked “Booking needed” below. For 13 places we checked opening times and prices on official websites in September 2026; open each place to see them. Opening times change, so check before you travel.
Can I visit every site?
Some places, especially open fields, are on private land: view them from the road or a public path. Cemeteries and memorials are places of remembrance first.
Is the guide free, and does it work without signal?
Yes. The Into Europe: the Allied campaign in Italy guide is free and works on your phone with no signal once it has been opened, with maps, stories and a tour planner. There is nothing to install from an app store.
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All 96 sites in Italy 1943–1945 →
Into Europe: the Allied campaign in Italy
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