Along road SP1 heading to the village of Pinzano, around 500 metres from the bridge, a trail on the right climbs uphill to the summit of Pion Hill, above the Tagliamento gorge. This height was chosen as the site for German ossuary that could accommodate the remains of the German soldiers who fell in the battle of 01st November 1917.
The project dates back to 1937 and was promoted by Adolf Hitler himself, who, thanks to the good relationships with the fascist regime led by Mussolini, purchased this land. Starting from a project by architect Robert Tischler (who had designed the German Memorial of Quero in 1936), construction work began in 1939 with sixty workers of the company Marchioro of Thiene, under an Austrian supervisor.
The initial drawings envisaged an itinerary allowing visitors to metaphorically "see" the departing souls of the soldiers. According to the project, the ossuary would spread over 3420 sqm and be approximately 10m high, partly covered and made of stone blocks of different sizes. Its construction continued for 5 years but was halted in 1944, due to WW II. During that year, whatever had been built was converted into a military post to defend the Pinzano Bridge.
This is also the reason why the ossuary was repeatedly bombed and eventually abandoned without ever having hosted the body of any soldier.
After several years of abandonment, recent restoration work now allows visiting this monument, which can be seen also from the opposite banks of the Tagliamento.
