New perception of human landscape: the case of Memorial Gardens and Avenues

After the First World War ended, Memorial Gardens and Avenues were established for honouring
human losses in conflict. This way to commemorate fallen soldiers changed the concept
of remembrance, which, instead of focusing on the dead, would serve to living populations
and give a message to future generations. In Italy, according to a law issued in 1922,
Memorial Gardens and Avenues were planned in each township. The goal was to create avenues
or parks by planting a tree for each fallen combatant; in this way, the remembrance
of dead soldiers was represented by living symbols like trees, instead of stone monuments.
Moreover, each tree was supposed to be identified by a plaque commemorating a single
fallen soldier, in order to maintain the memory of his sacrifice to the citizenship and particularly
to young generations. At present, many of these historical places are neglected
and/or ignored by municipalities and require serious restoration intervention.