i had spent ten minutes ringing the buzzer at the entrance to monte testaccio with no response. i was hot and i was frustrated. all i wanted was to see a glimpse of one of the thousands of testae (potsherds) that were dumped here between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD making monte testaccio a monte. giving up and briskly walking down via nicola zabaglia with an immensely dissatisfied look on my face, i was soon distracted by nature's heroin: the smell of freshly cut grass. following my senses, i walked towards this open green space and pushed the gate open with ease (take note monte testaccio). it felt like utopia. it was the most peaceful place i had ever been to in rome. and the most unusual thing? it was just me. just me, the lawnmower and 426 graves.
it was the rome commonwealth military cemetery in which lie the bodies of 426 members of the three armed services. the next hour was one of the most moving hours i have spent in italy. i walk past the pantheon, st. peter's and the colosseum most days of the week, but there was something about these humble tombstones that made more of an impression on me. i am 23, and what struck me most was that the majority of the soldiers were of a similar age. these tombstones were not dedicated by spouses but by parents. from parents to their children.
i thought of the centre of rome: the queues for the gelaterie, the heaving vatican museums and the thousands of people posing for photos in piazza navona and at the trevi fountain. i couldn't help but ask myself: why aren't they all here? admittedly, i wouldn't have been there if i hadn't stumbled across it, but intrigued, i looked at my most comprehensive guide book to see what it had to say on the cemetery (blue guide. buy buy buy). in 639 pages, only 2 lines were dedicated to this haven; i couldn't help but feel a little angry.
so here i am telling you all to go. you must. pay your respect to these sailors, soldiers and airmen who died for us and who died at the peaks of their lives. just around the corner from the cemetery is the bustling via ostiense where noisy romans shout about coffee, pasta and transport strikes. but here, it is pure tranquillity. i kept thinking to myself, 'at last you are all in peace'.
to the world just one,
to us all the world.
good night, god bless you.
14257928 trooper.
l. j. gould.
46th (liverpool welsh) royal tank regt. r.a.c.
1st march 1944.
age 28.
for more information on the cemetery visit: Cemetery Details
