The secrets of the only pyramid in Spain: abandoned, Francoist, full of corpses… and declared BIC

The process began on February 21, 2023 and is completed these days. The pyramid known as the Pyramid of the Italians or Pyramid of Puerto del Escudo has been declared a Cultural Asset in the Monument category. a technicality that protects it from the possible attacks promoted by Democratic Memory. It is not for nothing that this twenty-meter-high mass with a gigantic “M” at the entrance saw its future in jeopardy a year ago when the government, at the request of the Compromís senator Carles Mulet, included it in the list of symbols and elements that go against the above violate the law mentioned. Today it breathes calmly, although it will take many more months before it shines in all its glory. The monument or its remains cut through the horizon of Burgos. The exact location is unknown to most Spaniards: between the Valdebezana Valley and Cantabria. But it has remained there, for more than eight decades. During the Civil War, it was illuminated to serve as a mausoleum for the legionnaires sent by Benito Mussolini to fight for the insurgent side. And little remains of his majesty today. The Cave of Life and Death, where there are no remains of soldiers, remains abandoned and shrouded in historical secrets. Related News Standard No The Catalan general who wanted to end the Spanish anthem: he organized a competition to change it! Manuel P. Villatoro On September 4, 1870, General Prim opened a competition to create a new tune that would eventually become the “National March.” Alberto de Frutos, co-author of the bestseller “Landscapes of the 30s”. Civil War” (Larousse) received the news positively. “I think this is great news. “The Pyramid of the Italians had and has sufficient interest and historical value to be placed under this protection, without going into detail on its aesthetic or architectural features, which in this case seem to me of secondary importance, no matter how interesting they are,” he explains to ABC . The expert puts it bluntly: “Tear down, delete, forget are verbs that no self-respecting historian should have.” “We have to preserve the past and contextualize it, and of course that applies to every Franco symbol.” Offensive against the shield But let’s do it in parts. The origin of the monument must be sought in the battles for Santander in August 1937. At the beginning of the month, the rebel side organized an offensive along the Cantabrian coast towards a Santander anemia where there were few defenders. According to Michael Alpert in “The Civil War in the Air,” among the Franco troops were the Italians of the Corpo di Troupe Volontaire del “Duce.” “Mussolini had repatriated 5,000 soldiers, leaving behind the most suitable volunteers to fight alongside the Navarrese brigades, as well as a mixed brigade called the Frecce Nere, made up of Italian and Spanish troops,” argues the Anglo-Saxon historian. “These volunteers had an outstanding turnout. Guadalajara had taught them in March that the war in Spain would not be a military parade and that its commanders would have to prove (and prove to themselves) that they would maintain the initiative. Within the forces assembled by General Dávila, the Italians were stationed south of the port of Escudo: three divisions – Fiamme Nera, Littorio and XXIII de Marzo – and the Gruppo Banderas IX Maggio. “It was the Italian equipment, supported by the Condor Legion, that began the operation with a bombardment on August 14,” De Frutos explains to ABC. According to him, the fascists very soon captured various towns on the way to the port of Escudo, with the columns of the Fiamme Nera division at the head. After reaching the top of the pass on August 15, they continued to advance through the Pas, Besaya, Carriedo and Cabuérniga valleys towards Torrelavega. Among the areas where the most blood was shed is the port of Escudo. For three days and three nights, hundreds of soldiers around him died due to Lieutenant Colonel Sanjuán’s fierce defense; and many other government air force aircraft also fell. What was experienced there was no small feat, wow. The fighting continued until August 17, when the Italian-formed XXIII de Marzo Division forced passage and took the position. At least that’s what Ramón Tamames says in one of his numerous books about the conflict. This movement practically meant the dissolution of the enemy. In just twelve days, the men of the Littorio Division and the troops of the IV Navarre Brigade had already arrived in Santander, where they took many prisoners. Franco’s Pyramid According to José Miguel Muñoz in his dossier “The Pyramid of the Italians in the Port of El Escudo: Documentation of its Construction Process,” the Italian officers at the time, under the direction of Chaplain Pietro, set up “small and numerous makeshift cemeteries,” says Varzi. Emergency burials took place in Corconte, El Escudo Pass, Quintanatello, Villacarriedo, Santaelices, Soncillo, Forua, Baquio and Zumaya. All neighboring areas. According to this expert, a year later, Dalmatian ex-combatant Attilio Radic wrote a letter to Milan asking to build a grandiose “ossuary monument to honor the fallen in Spain.” “The pyramid was designed in the valley of Valdebezana (Burgos), on the border with Cantabria, and was inaugurated at the end of the war to house the remains of almost four hundred members of the Corpo Troupe Volontaire. It was built next to the port of Escudo to honor the Italians who died in the campaign, in line with other similar monuments that honored the fallen of the First World War in northern Italy. Not far from it, in the Burgos district of Cilleruelo de Bricia, there is another very important monument dedicated to the Sagardía Column, which commemorates the same offensive and the performance of the 62nd Division of General Antonio Sagardía. Ramos,” De Frutos reveals to ABC. Interior of the Pyramid of the Italians EP There has been much speculation about the exact year in which the pyramid was built. Muñoz argues, based on documents, that the project had already been approved on September 26, 1938, but that there was a significant delay of several months. On May 20, 1939, an official Italian document confirmed that the company “Artieri Genius” had received delivery of the monument, albeit incompletely. “This company was then responsible for continuing the work, so the captain asked for 4,890 tombstones and a marble statue of Victory with the shield to be sent,” he adds. No luck. Only 360 small niches were added for the inner columbarium. And the sculpture was never placed. In the same year, ABC reported that Foreign Minister Count Ciano visited Spain to inaugurate the pyramid: “Arrived at the port of El Escudo, where stands the Mausoleum of the Fallen Legionnaires, made of stone and resembling a large one.” After the distinguished visitor the After visiting the pyramid with a monumental “M” at the entrance, he continued his journey to Corconte after visiting the funerary monument. At this point, the mass transfer of remains had not yet begun. We had to wait another two years until about 400 officers were buried there. The rest, hundreds, were buried in the area under crosses that have now disappeared. The return Since then, mysteries have surrounded the “Pyramid of the Italians”. The myth goes that the colossal “M” at the entrance refers to Mussolini; also what refers to “monumentum”. It is unknown. What is clear is that the remains of the soldiers were gradually repatriated. “The bodies lay there until 1975. Then they were returned to their country of origin or to the ossuary tower of the church of San Antonio de Padua in Zaragoza,” reveals De Frutos. This caused the government on the other side of the Mediterranean to forget about the construction and it fell into disgrace. “Until then the pyramid was the property of the Italian state. For many years, between 1946 and 1975, in his care was a resident of the area, Félix López Hernando, who came from Venta Nueva but settled in El Escudo and was employed by the Italian Consulate in Santander with a salary of five hundred pesetas and social security , to monitor the sanctuary, show it to visitors and assist the Italian ambassador, who visited the site every two years. Félix was a small boy when he witnessed the advance of Franco’s troops and the Italians bombed the family home and killed a pig. In a way, this work served to compensate for these losses…” explains the Spanish author. Controversy Today the monument was declared a cultural asset after a long legal battle. Although we have no doubt about it, the decision will cause controversy. “The Pyramid of the Italians is an open book about Mussolini’s help to Franco and about the struggle of the Corpo Troupe Volontarie (a force in which, however, not all fighters were volunteers) in the Spanish Civil War. In this sense, I agree with other historians who have called for this space to be turned into a museum. It is the same. And of course that this task is carried out by professionals and that politicians do not get involved,” explains De Frutos. Standard Related News No Podcast | The Snow Society Is it moral to eat human flesh? What the Pope told the survivors of the Andean standard Manuel P. Villatoro: No sailor blood! Arturo Pérez-Reverte arrives on his boat to present an exhibition by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau Manuel P. Villatoro. The expert emphasizes that we must be very careful when applying the democratic memory law when he speaks of the removal of “symbols and elements that contradict democracy.” Memory. “We should be mature enough by now to face the past, whether we like it or not, and analyze it as it was.” That a minority will exploit these symbols to strengthen their fascist creed? Sure, but the vast majority of us will recognize the facts, and that is crucial at a time when so many young people don’t have the slightest idea of ​​what happened before yesterday. Hopefully then all administrations will take care of this heritage and historians will work freely to provide us with the keys to each and every one of these elements,” he says. In short, De Frutos is clear: “The Battle of Santander took place and the mausoleum was built. What we need to do now – what should be done – is to explain it “in situ” and keep this memory alive, and not “celebrate the triumph of a few murderers”, as the Association for the Restoration of Historical Memory has emphasized. but to remember the victims.”