The construction
Work on the construction of the Monument started on 28 October 1932, the anniversary of the March on Rome. It was directed by the architect Brunati and carried out by the Roman engineer Armando Simoncini. The Lega Navale met the costs of the construction, while Brindisi Council had to cover the purchase of the land, the building of the side walls, the layout of the adjacent park and the tree-lined access avenue.
The 54 metre-high monument was made from the ochre-coloured carparo stone from Trepuzzi, with steps in white stone from Trani; two large fasces in white travertine were placed on the sides of the "rudder". During construction the two large statues of sailors originally foreseen at the sides of the rudder were replaced with two guns from Austro-Hungarian ships sunk by the Italian navy during the First World War. A few years later two anchors, also from the Austro-Hungarian navy, were placed on the upper square.
The crypt under the base was 27 metres deep and had a single nave divided into five bays with cross vaults, evoking the capsized hull of a ship. At the end of the nave a bronze statue of the Virgin "Stella Maris" by Amerigo Bartoli rested on an altar of Trani stone. Along the nave large black marble slabs were inscribed with the names of the sailors lost in the wars from 1860 to the First World War.
As planned, the work was completed within one year, by 28 October 1933. The final cost of the monument amounted to 2,300,000 lire.
