(4 Nov 2018) Italiy's president on Sunday marked the centenary of the end of World War I, taking part in a ceremony at the Redipuglia War Memorial in the country's northeast.
Hundreds of people and groups of school children were present as Sergio Mattarella honoured those who lost their lives during the war by laying a wreath at the memorial, the resting place for more than 100,000 soldiers.
Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta and Italian armed forces chief Claudio Graziano were among other attendees at the ceremony.
November 4 has been marked in Italy since 1919 as the Day of National Unity and Armed Forces to commemorate the Italian victory in the First World War and the armistice of Villa Giusti in 1918, which sanctioned the surrender of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
This year, the day coincides with the 100th anniversary of the end of the four-year war that killed more than two million of its troops and left four million wounded.
The Redipuglia memorial was inaugurated in 1938 and is located near Gorizia, in Italy's Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in the area of the Isonzo front, close to some of the most significant battle sites between the Italian army and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Its stone steps hold the remains of more than 39,000 identified soldiers.
At the end of the steps, two large tombs covered with bronze plates hold the remains of more than 60,000 unknown soldiers.
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