Mausoleo delle Fosse Ardeatine
Unlike the other mausoleums in the area, this one is much more recent: buried here are the 335 victims of a massacre ordered by the Nazis as retribution for a partisan attack that killed 33 Nazis in March 1944. The tombs are labeled with the names, ages, and occupations of the victims, most of whom had nothing to do with the attack. As you enter the complex and walk through the caves, note the sculpture at the entrance and the bronze gates inside the tunnels. The statue, called The Three Ages of Man, represents the age range of the victims, from the youngest (15 years old) to the oldest (74 years old), while the bronze gates represent the horrific tangle of tortured bodies. A small museum with artifacts from the war sheds some light on the tragedy that took place here.
