Every year, Americans around the world pause on the fourth Monday in May to remember all those who have fallen while serving in the U.S. military. This day of remembrance was formally known as Decoration Day, as it grew from the longstanding tradition of adorning with flags and flowers the graves of those who died in battle. 

These observances gained momentum in the late 1860s after a devastating Civil War in which two percent of the population died in battle, of disease or in captivity. No community survived the war years unscathed. Today, in the United States, the day remains one of ceremony and contemplation, but also of parades, cookouts and the annual running of America’s most famous auto race, the Indianapolis 500.  

In Tuscany, Italians and Americans come together at the Florence American Cemetery to pay their respects to the 4,399 men and women buried there and to the 1,409 names of those still missing in action. As 2019 marks both the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Consulate in Florence and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of much of Tuscany, this year’s Memorial Day commemoration will serve as a particularly important reminder of the shared history and sacrifice that bind together the United States and Italy. Memorial Day is a time to reflect on the past as well as look ahead and be thankful for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. As American poet Oliver Wendell Holmes said in a 1884 Memorial Day speech, “Our dead brothers still live for us, and bid us think of life, not death – of life to which in their youth they lent the passion and joy of the spring.”

Please join us at the annual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 27 at 11am at the Florence American Cemetery. Participation in the ceremony is free and open to the public. For more information and directions, head here.