The memory of the Great War in the official speeches at the Redipuglia Shrine. From the postwar reconstruction period to the Italian economic miracle. The Redipuglia shrine is the most important WWI Italian mausoleum, containing more than 100.000 corpses. It is located on the former eastern Italian front, in the multiethnic Julian march region. It was built under fascism in 1938, but the alliance with Nazi Germany and the coming war, led the regime to not perform any commemoration after the opening ceremony. The golden age of the Redipuglia Shrine in Italian national public discourse was after WWII, and continued to grasp public attention until the 1960s. Tensions between Italy and Yugoslavia for the sovereignty of the Julian march and the massive participation of living Great War veterans made Redipuglia a perfect stage for Italian government politicians, such as De Gasperi and Moro. In this impressive memorial, authorities could deliver speeches in which they were able to integrate WWI into Republican national identity, choosing the memories of the Great War that fitted best with their political agenda. Based on historical newspaper and scientific literature, the article describes the relationship among the Italian state, the public memory of WWI and the Redipuglia shrine from the 1940s to the 1960s.
