Basovizza
The History of the Foiba di Basovizza
The Foiba di Basovizza is an artificial cavity initially created for coal extraction in the northeast area of the Carso plateau, at an altitude of 377 meters. It was granted to Azienda Carboni Italiani but was soon abandoned due to its low productivity. During World War II, it became a site of summary executions for prisoners, military personnel, police officers, and civilians by Yugoslav communist partisans. The victims were first sent to internment camps set up in Slovenia before being killed in Basovizza.
The National Monument
In memory of the victims of the massacres in the area, a Shrine was built. In 1992, the well was declared a national monument by the President of the Italian Republic, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.
The History of the Well
Between 1901 and 1908, the company Boemia Škoda Holding dug a well to locate significant coal or lignite deposits near Basovizza. However, the excavations were minimally productive, and the mine was abandoned. In 1936, the maximum depth of -225 meters was reached, but approximately 30 meters of debris and wood prevented further progress. In 1941, a mountaineer descended to retrieve the body of a girl, reaching -226 meters. Finally, in 1943, a group of seven speleologists descended to -220 meters.
The Massacres of the Foibe
In May 1945, the foiba was used by Yugoslav partisans to conceal an unspecified number of Italian and German corpses. Prisoners, military personnel, and civilians killed by the army and OZNA during the Yugoslav occupation of Trieste were thrown into the well. There is no precise calculation of the number of bodies thrown into the foiba; some estimates are based on the well's depth, which was 228 meters before 1945 and had decreased to 198 meters after, leading to an estimate of 250 cubic meters filled with materials that would be human bodies.
The documentation collected by the Anglo-American allies is based partly on the testimony of the priests of Sant'Antonio in Bosco and Corgnale. In any case, the massacres of the foibe represent a tragic moment in the history of Trieste and Italy.
