Brindisi · MCMXXXIII

The National Monument to the Italian Sailor

Shrine, lighthouse and lookout over the harbour of Brindisi

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54 m

tall from the upper terrace

68 m

from the lower square

5,922

names carved in the crypt

1933

inaugurated on 4 November

The rudder

Welcome to the National Monument to the Italian Sailor, on the western shore of the harbour of Brindisi. The great structure rising before you has the shape of a ship's rudder: the symbol of steering, of the course to be held, of the destiny of all who sail the sea.

Discover the architecture →

Typological comparison: the Roman Columns (27 m), the Monument to the Sailor, the Laboe Naval Memorial (85 m), the Statue of Liberty (93 m).

Fourteen months on the harbour

1932-1933: the building site in six images

The project model in front view: the entrance surmounted by the cross, the two side sculptures and the pool of water (Luigi Brunati and Amerigo Bartoli, 1932).

The tower of timber formwork as the structure rises.

The workers, gathered at the base of the building, listen to a radio announcement.

13 May 1933: the arrival of the Neptunia, greeted by the crowd; on the left, the rising building site.

May 1933: the tower almost complete, with scaffolding still at the top; the terraces are already defined.

4 November 1933: the crowd on the terraces and along the quay, seen from the sea.

Browse the 38 plates of the exhibition →

5.922

names carved in the crypt-shrine

At the bottom of the sea, it has been written, there are no differences of rank, of nationality or of faith: there is only the brotherhood of seafaring people.

The crypt is open every day except Wednesday, free of charge.