Monumento ai Caduti (Monument to the Fallen), Como

Antonio Sant'Elia was a futurist visionary architect and soldier who died in 1916 in the battle of Monfalcone. Born in Como, his urban design featured modernity, dynamics, and speed. Some drawings from his book, "New City," showing vistas of multi-level skyscraper cities, are kept at Villa Olmo in Como.

The Monument to the Fallen is on Como's lakeshore, next to the Volta Temple. Its design is based on a pencil and watercolor sketch of a lighthouse by Antonio Sant'Elia, done in 1912. Sant'Elia himself is one of the 650 fallen remembered in the monument.

In 1930, Futurist scenographer Enrico Prampolini was asked to adapt a sketch by Sant'Elia to that of a monument. Prampolini's 10-foot colonnade version was rejected by the fascist mayor. The work was taken over by architect Giuseppe Terragni, with the support of his brother, Attilio Terragni, the mayor of Como. Made of Serizzo granite and Nabresina marble, the monument has a surface polished like a mirror and shows that the Terragni has skillfully adapted Sant'Elia's vision. The Monument to the Fallen was inaugurated in November 1933.

The memorial is a futuristic Ziggurat. From a massive pedestal, four columns frame rectangular openings. The pedestal has two symmetrical entrances with inscriptions. "The city exalts her sons with stones from Carso, 1915-1918," faces the city. "This night, we sleep in Trieste or Paradise among the heroes," overlooks Lake Como.

The interior holds a granite monolith with the names of the fallen. There is a sepulchral chapel, a crypt, staircases, and an elevator.