Anzio War Cemetery
One kilometre north of Anzio town, just off the No.207, 1,056 white headstones stand in even rows across manicured lawn. The names on them — overwhelmingly British, with a handful of Canadians, New Zealanders and South Africans — mark men buried here in the weeks and months after January 1944, when Allied forces landed on this stretch of coast and found the German defences far more organised than expected.
Architect Louis de Soissons laid out the cemetery in a classical arrangement: colonnades, a Stone of Remembrance, a Cross of Sacrifice, cypress trees rising against the coastal sky. The sandy, flood-prone soil required engineered drainage before any of it could take permanent shape. It was officially opened in 1957.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who return tend to download the free For Evermore app before they arrive rather than at the gate — the guided path around the cemetery pairs individual headstones with the stories behind them, and that changes what you're looking at. The QR panel near the entrance is worth scanning too, even if you've been before.
The story behind Anzio War Cemetery
The Allied landings at Anzio in January 1944 were intended to outflank the German line and open a route to Rome. Instead, the beachhead stalled for months under determined resistance; the breakthrough didn't come until May. Burials at this site began almost immediately after the landings, the ground chosen while the campaign was still unresolved.
On 19 April 1951, then-Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the cemetery — six years before it was formally opened in 1957. Louis de Soissons, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's principal architect, designed the layout, using local Italian stone for walls and pathways alongside standardised Portland stone headstones.
Good to know
Direct trains from Roma Termini reach Anzio Colonia in just over an hour, running every day. By car, take the No.148 to the Anzio exit, then follow the No.207. The cemetery is open at all times, free of charge, with wheelchair access via an alternative entrance. Don't confuse it with Beach Head Cemetery, which sits 5 kilometres further north on the same road.
The cemetery is open year-round, and the coastal Lazio climate makes spring and autumn the most comfortable seasons to visit — warm without the intensity of a July or August afternoon, when the sun across open lawns can be sharp.
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What travellers say about Anzio War Cemetery
Very moving presentation for our war heroes who paid the ultimate price in the Anzio Beachhead offensive. I was very proud to be an American after visiting this well thought out museum/cemetery. Listen to the stories and take your time. If available, take a golf cart with the docent and learn about the process that the US took to honor our service men and women. Guarantee you will be moved to tears!
Great stop gives all of us that visits to pay respect to our greatest generation and those that have payed with the ultimate sacrifice. Also a good museum
Something to note if planning a visit... the photos in the reviews made by Robert and Renee are not of this Cemetery but rather appear to be from the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery located nearby. Anzio War Cemetery is a British Cemetery and contains 1,056 Commonwealth burials from the Second World War.
This was the British war cemetery in anzio. Very somber and sublime.
My grand father Sgt Arthur George CARROLL of the 188 co. Royal Pioneer Corp. DOD 26/05/1944 is buried here. I had an amazing visit that I arranged in advance. I met the gardener here and had an Internment ceremony where his wife, my grandmother, were finally together again. I placed my grandmother’s ashes in the opened grave and then it was immaculately restored to its previous perfection by the gardener gentleman. The whole area is pristine and a visit I made was arranged and carried out with a professional and understanding manner. Thank You.
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