Giannino Ancillotto Memorial

10 min.

In the centre of Piazza Indipendenza in San Donà di Piave, the birthplace of Giannino Ancillotto (1896-1924), there is a monument dedicated to this World War I Italian Air Force ace. The monument was designed by the architect Pietro Lombardi and set up in 1931. It is possibly a unique example of its kind–shaped as an aircraft, representing the plane aboard which Ancillotto shot down an Austrian reconnaissance plane at Rustignè near Oderzo on 5 December 1917, for which he was awarded Gold Medal. This action is also depicted in one of the two bronze reliefs decorating the monument, a work by the artist Valerio Brocchi.

Text: Regione del Veneto
Photo: VeGAL