The Tower of San Martino della Battaglia is a monumental building erected in 1878, to commemorate the

Battle of San Martino {{Campaignbox Austro Sardinian War In 1859, during the Italian Risorgimento – the Second Italian War of Independence, – there was another greater battle here, more commonly called the Battle of Solferino or the ''Battle of Solferino and San ...

, a portion of the

Battle of Solferino The Battle of Solferino (referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Piedmont-Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II (together know ...

in 1859, located near San Martino, province of Brescia, region of Lombardy, Italy. Tour de San Martino de la Bataille

The 74 meter high tower was constructed in the form of a

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

turret, atop the hill of San Martino. Nearby is an

Ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...

that collected the bodies of soldiers who died in the battle there between the Austrian and the Piedmontese army. The larger engagement, which also included French troops, led to the cession of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

to the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

(

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

). The

took place near the villages of

Solferino Solferino ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a small town and municipality in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately south of Lake Garda. It is best known as being close to the site of the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, part ...

and

San Martino della Battaglia Desenzano del Garda ( lmo, label=Brescian, Dezensà) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy, on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda. It borders the communes of Castiglione delle Stiviere, Lonato, Padenghe sul Garda ...

, south of

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

between

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

. The adjoint

was fought north from Solferino, near the lakeshore, between San Martino and

Pozzolengo Pozzolengo (Brescian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is loca ...

villages. The architect was Giacomo Frizzoni of Bergamo, and engineers were Luigi Fattori of Solferino, Antonio Monterumici of Treviso, and Ducati Cavalieri of Bologna. At the hall at the base is a bronze statue of

Vittorio Emanuele II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was Kingdom of Sardinia, King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 Marc ...

sculpted by Antonio Dal Zotto. The walls have large frescoes by

Vittorio Bressanin Vittorio Emanuele Bressanin (November 22, 1860 – August 16, 1941) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born in Musile di Piave. He moved to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice under Pompeo Molmenti, and soon became instructor ...

of Venice, but also Vincenzo De Stefani (born in Verona, March 6, 1859), Alberti Giuseppe Vizzotto of Oderzo, and Raffaello Pontremoli, with panels depicting events surrounding the battle. The tower can be ascended by a spiraling ramp. At the top of the tower there is a lookout panel highlighting important towns that can be viewed from that vantage point. The architecture seems to have been influenced by the Neoclassic marble tower built in the Cemetery of Brescia in 1815 by the architect

Rodolfo Vantini Rodolfo Vantini (1792 – 1856) was an Italian architect. He is remembered for his Neoclassical contributions to architecture in his native city of Brescia and in the surrounding regions of northern Italy. His masterpiece is the design of Milan ...

; however, this monument in hewn stone projects a rustic gothic castle appearance.

Sources

City of Desenzano del Garda
website on tower.
Società Solferino e San Martino
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martino della Battaglia, San Monuments and memorials in Lombardy Towers completed in 1859 Towers in Italy Buildings and structures completed in 1859 Buildings and structures in the Province of Brescia Tourist attractions in Lombardy Gothic Revival architecture in Italy 19th-century architecture in Italy