Militaria research on the Gothic Line: Riva Ridge

Our journey into the history and stories of the Gothic Line stops today in Trignano (Modena - Italy), in the rooms of the Riva Ridge Museum: Gothic Line - Felix Pedro. The museum is managed by The Gothic Line Association - Memory Lab which, between:

publications
teaching
studies
events
public and tourist initiatives
many other activities

carried out for years an important work of conservation and promotion of the historical memory of the Gothic Line.

Gothic Line

The Riva Ridge Museum represents all this well: a center where you can focus on the history and the stories of the protagonists told in about 40 biographical panels (both in Italian and English), or you can discover the memories revealed by the many objects found during excavations or donations and you can learn about the Riva Ridge battle, decisive for the Allied advance.

The events of the American 10^th Mountain Division

We are in February 1945; the conformation of our territories, the impervious and extremely complex geographical areas, led to the intervention in these lands of the US 10^th Mountain Division, the only US division highly specialized and trained for combat in geographically complex terrains and areas.

The objective of opening the way for the advance towards Bologna was crucial and the 10^th Mountain Division had the task of conquering the impervious ridge. They succeeded, with an incredible and heroic operation, after a 600 mt climb up through th most rugged face of the mountains, in the middle of the night, action that took the Germans by surprise. The relationship between the 10^th Mountain Division and our Association is a precious friendship born from research and activities, first with the veterans themselves and then with their relatives and the association which periodically returns to visit the places where the brave soldiers of the division fought .

In the rooms of the Museum you will find this extraordinary story and more. You will be able to find carefully reconstructed settings, showcases, biographical panels and even a forerunner of the metal detectors we use today.

Gothic Line

The donated objects and all the other things found using metal detector, once again allow us to reconstruct history, stories and events. The research of militaria combined with the study and historical investigations are precious tool for the conservation of history and memory which, thanks to places and associations like this, unites people, history and lives.

All these activities pushed me to join the Linea Gotica Officina della Memoria association years ago and today I continue to participate as a member of its board. The Association has also created the first app dedicated to the Gothic Line, an excellent tool for discovering