War memorials around the world tend to be country-specific in honoring the fallen, but a magnificent hilltop monument in the Italian city of Medea (Gorizia, Friuli venezia Giulia) breaks the mold by also paying homage to peace. Built shortly after World War II, the Ara Pacis Mundi commemorates soldiers who have died in all wars. Its name translates to Altar of World Peace.

Pictures don’t do justice to the spectacle of the more than two dozen 45-foot-tall marble pillars, which afford visitors a panoramic view of the Isonzo River plain. In World War I, the Isonzo Front was the scene of two years’ worth of fighting between the armies of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The carnage was horrendous, with about 500,000 killed.