THE MUSEUM OF THE 1915-1918 WAR
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The First World War marked the history of the Plateau forever, causing temporary depopulation and thus marking the end of an old era and the beginning of a new one. This war left many irreparable marks in history.
In 1974, the town of Roana was nominated responsible for the creation of the war museum: this gave the town the right to deal with the Italian Army for collecting and gathering weapons, ammunition and other war artefacts for the museum.
It was decided to place the museum on the premises of the former railway station of the Società Veneta Ferrovie, recently acquired by the Council of Roana. The coordinators of the museum started immediately to place the artefacts for exhibitions, among which were for example original military maps and hundreds of photographs reproduced in size 18x24cm. After the museum found its home, the Italian Ministry of Defence assigned to the museum two 100/17 calibre guns (from the Arsenal of Taranto), various other guns and personal weapons, and a perfectly preserved 381 calibre cannon (from the Arsenal of Verona). This precious donation was placed in two rooms of the museum into iron and glass showcases. There are also other cases from wood and glass, purchased from the local craftsmen and bought by the town or paid by private donations.
Chandeliers were given to the museum as presents from friends and represent artefacts of a great interest, since they are built from war relics: gun barrels, bayonets, helmets, crampons, spikes, and chains. Nowadays the museum has over 1,000 photographs; a beautiful series of reproductions of Beltrame works issued by the “Domenica del Corriere” in 1965, on the 50th anniversary of the Italian military involvement into the war; and over 5,000 artefacts of all kinds, including personal belongings of soldiers (garments, jewellery, medals, etc.) According to the first project, the building had to be built on 2 floors, but considering the amount of materials and documents to display, a room of 200 square metres was added. Thus, the war artefacts occupy now 600 square metres in total.
One of the most unique findings you can see here is a 420 mm calibre shell that the Austrian troops fired from the cannon placed in Serrada Barbara (Trento) and that did not explode. The shell has a diameter of 1,60 metres, a weight of 1300 kg and contains 70 kg of explosive. The museum also hosts an anti-ship mine and an anti-aircraft cannon that is situated outside the building.
The Museum of the 1915-1918 War presents only artefacts from the First World War found on the Plateau. The inventory of the museum is annually updated due to cooperation with the police Headquarters of Vicenza. The Military Arsenal of Verona, to guarantee the safety of visitors, deactivates all weapons and ammunition.
Tickets:
Children till 8 years: free entrance
Children from 8 to 14 years: 2 Euro
Teenagers and adults from 14 to 60 years: 3 Euro
Seniors over 60 years: 2 Euro
Groups over 20 persons: 1.50 Euro
Opening hours:
- June 15th-September 15th: daily from 10 to 12 and from 15 to 19;
- the rest of the year only by appointment: please call the Tourist Office of Roana (Tel. 0424 692212) or contact directly the person responsible, Francesco Magnabosco (Tel. 0424 692405).
Visit the website!
In 1974, the town of Roana was nominated responsible for the creation of the war museum: this gave the town the right to deal with the Italian Army for collecting and gathering weapons, ammunition and other war artefacts for the museum.
It was decided to place the museum on the premises of the former railway station of the Società Veneta Ferrovie, recently acquired by the Council of Roana. The coordinators of the museum started immediately to place the artefacts for exhibitions, among which were for example original military maps and hundreds of photographs reproduced in size 18x24cm. After the museum found its home, the Italian Ministry of Defence assigned to the museum two 100/17 calibre guns (from the Arsenal of Taranto), various other guns and personal weapons, and a perfectly preserved 381 calibre cannon (from the Arsenal of Verona). This precious donation was placed in two rooms of the museum into iron and glass showcases. There are also other cases from wood and glass, purchased from the local craftsmen and bought by the town or paid by private donations.
Chandeliers were given to the museum as presents from friends and represent artefacts of a great interest, since they are built from war relics: gun barrels, bayonets, helmets, crampons, spikes, and chains. Nowadays the museum has over 1,000 photographs; a beautiful series of reproductions of Beltrame works issued by the “Domenica del Corriere” in 1965, on the 50th anniversary of the Italian military involvement into the war; and over 5,000 artefacts of all kinds, including personal belongings of soldiers (garments, jewellery, medals, etc.) According to the first project, the building had to be built on 2 floors, but considering the amount of materials and documents to display, a room of 200 square metres was added. Thus, the war artefacts occupy now 600 square metres in total.
One of the most unique findings you can see here is a 420 mm calibre shell that the Austrian troops fired from the cannon placed in Serrada Barbara (Trento) and that did not explode. The shell has a diameter of 1,60 metres, a weight of 1300 kg and contains 70 kg of explosive. The museum also hosts an anti-ship mine and an anti-aircraft cannon that is situated outside the building.
The Museum of the 1915-1918 War presents only artefacts from the First World War found on the Plateau. The inventory of the museum is annually updated due to cooperation with the police Headquarters of Vicenza. The Military Arsenal of Verona, to guarantee the safety of visitors, deactivates all weapons and ammunition.
Tickets:
Children till 8 years: free entrance
Children from 8 to 14 years: 2 Euro
Teenagers and adults from 14 to 60 years: 3 Euro
Seniors over 60 years: 2 Euro
Groups over 20 persons: 1.50 Euro
Opening hours:
- June 15th-September 15th: daily from 10 to 12 and from 15 to 19;
- the rest of the year only by appointment: please call the Tourist Office of Roana (Tel. 0424 692212) or contact directly the person responsible, Francesco Magnabosco (Tel. 0424 692405).
Visit the website!
