🏛️ Foiba di Basovizza

The foiba di Basovizza is an artificial cavity located near Basovizza, in the comune of Trieste in the north-eastern Karst plateau at an altitude of 377 meters. It is not a true foiba as it was dug at the beginning of the 20th century for coal extraction and later abandoned due to lack of productivity. It is more than 200 meters deep and about 4 meters wide. Towards the end of World War Two, communist Yugoslav partisans used it a place for summary executions of prisoners, soldiers, police officers and civilians. A monument was erected at the site to commemorate the victims of the massacres in the area. In 1992 the place was declared a national monument by President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.