War Memorial of Barzio

The War Memorial of Barzio, also known as the Lion of Barzio, remembers the fallen of Barzio for all the wars, inaugurated in this form on August 23rd, 1952, is inspired by the first War Memorial. It is located in the middle of Piazza Garibaldi, center of the village in a small raised pedestrian area.
The project of the memorial is by the architects Marangoni and Monesi, the lion statue is by the sculptor Giuseppe Mozzanica.

The War Memorial of Barzio has a rectangular stone base of about four by three meters which raises the whole structure of 80 cm. from the ground by the side of the ice cream bar Chalet, lower in the opposite side. It is dominated by the figure of a lion in bronze with a rough length of two meters, on a stone of rust color in slight slope that enhances his posture. One appreciates his mane, the body and the tail, the lion's head is slightly bent to the right, his gaze between the proud and the astonished is directed to south towards the old houses of the square. On the stone and protruding, near the right paw of the lion, is placed a flag in bronze with rod tip.
The base of the monument is surrounded by a series of metal crosses of about thirty centimeters to twenty in which stands a white marble slab, angular to Via Roma and the old houses in Piazza Garibaldi. On marbles are written three verses of Renzo Buzzoni, in red capital letters:
Ruggi non domo ed eco fa il Pioverna
forte nell'ugne il tricolore serri
simbolo che nostra fe' nel bronzo eterna
Roar not tame and echo goes the Pioverna
strong in the nail the three-coloured flag close
symbol of our faith the bronze eternal
In the direction of the houses, in the same form:
Barzio ai suoi caduti
Barzio to its fallen

Behind the lion gets up a stele as a pillar about four meters high and about a two feet wide, which shrinks slightly from the bottom to the top in south-north side, a cross of fifty centimeters is engraved in red towards the mountain. The stele holds two bronze bas-reliefs about one meter tall, one at south and one to the north, by the sculptor Michele Vedani.
In bas relief to the lion a woman, probably a wife, kisses a soldier with the opening left arm, he is leaving, at the woman's robe clings a small child. In that of the opposite side of the stele, a soldier on a rock ups a flag with his left hand, probably in sign of victory, in the other hand down a gun, under the rock it can see the heads of other soldiers.
Alongside the bas relief of the leaving soldier from the base on a stone two wrought bronze cups of half-meter opposite with a helmet on top forming a lamp.

Three white marble tombstones slightly tilted remember the fallen of Barzio for all the wars, with the names engraved in red. The gravestones are on the base, surrounded by pebbles of white gravel, facing the east side of the square or rather to the mountain, behind the body of the lion.
The first plaque remembers the fallen in the Africa war in 1896, Antonio Arrigoni, and those of 1915 - 18 war from Arrigoni Neri Giov. to Molteni Isidoro.
In the second one continue the names of the 1915 - 18 war from Moneta Calimero to Valsechini Giovanni, and for 1940 - 1945 war in Greece Albania the two fallen Arrigoni Neri Angelo and Camozzini Giuseppe di G., in Germany with names from Paroli Natale to Tantardini Germano.
The third plaque Retaliation in Zone 1945 names from Amati Carlo to Valsecchi Cesare, In Service Pezzati Silvano, Missing the names from Arrigoni Domenico di V. to Scandella Lorenzo.

Making an analysis of the War Memorial of Barzio and starting from the lion, it is a symbol of strength and courage of the soldiers who defend Italy, represented by the flag that is close to (is tight by) of the claws of the lion's right paw, the most advanced. The location of the statue is excellent, over the heads of the viewer, enhanced by red stone that supports it, rust red reminiscent the rock of Rocca di Baiedo. The statue is well sculpted for the body part and the tail, while it seems less successful the look of the lion with feelings too different: his mouth is open with curved side down, eyes outside, it looks like a lion a bit old.
The monument has two significant elements: the lion and the bronze, in bronze is the lion, the bas-reliefs, the helmet and the flag as the third verse of Buzzoni says: symbol of our faith the bronze eternal and it overrides the three colors of the Italian flag. The flag, the key to understanding the meaning of the monument, it is not easily to identify, you can clearly see from behind the rock.
The two bas-reliefs, of which recognizes the best workmanship, evoke one the pain of separation, the other the victory over the enemy; the stele with its small cross, at first glance may go unnoticed but complete the memorial with discretion.
The writing in the white marble on the edge of the monument 'Barzio to its fallen' is a bit small.

This War Memorial of Barzio replaced the first war memorial, always placed in Piazza Garibaldi. The Memorial was inaugurated in 1923, August 26th 1923 the day when Barzio celebrates its saint patron St. Alexander martyr. The lion was in the opposite direction compared to the current one and bordered by a small area to which was added a gate to protect it, there are many photographs that portrayed.
On a high white stage and embossed, more than three meters, a bronze lion on a stone, on which we see a ax, he defends a flag wrapped in a row that ends like a spear also bronze.
Two bas-reliefs are placed at the center of the stage structure, upstream and downstream, upstream on the sides two plaques in memory of the fallen of World War I. The statue of the lion and the bas-relieafs are by Michele Vedani, born in 1874 who had studied at the Brera Academy, of which have been preserved the two panels still present in the current memorial.
On the monument the line of Renzo Buzzoni who had been inspired by a poetry of Bellano Sigismondo Boldoni, 'rugge il Pioverna dai gorghi neri', 'roars the Pioverna by eddies blacks'.
The lion in the second war was melted for reasons of war, in the square was disconsolate only the base, after the war it was decided to reconstitute the memorial, completed then in 1952.

The Lion of Barzio and its pedestrian area, on which pavement there is the coat of arms, surrounded by benches, decorated with small fir trees and a red maple, is a favorite place for locals and vacationers for date and stay.

1. Foto e cartoline vecchie di Barzio (Photos and old postcards of Barzio). ganassa.it