Italian Memorial Mediterranean Coast

About 11km west of El Alamein, roughly where the front line between opposing armies ran in WWII, the Italian memorial has a wide path rimmed by flowering shrubs leading up to a tall, slender tower. It's moving to see the simple design inside the tower – square white marble slabs covering the walls, engraved only with the names of the dead. The tower is kept locked, but the caretaker will appear and open it up for you soon after you arrive. At the roadside entrance to the memorial, there is a small one-room museum with some interesting maps, artillery, photos and memorabilia from the battle. Most of the information is in Italian only, although there are a couple of translations into English and Arabic.Before reaching the memorial, you’ll notice on the left (south) side of the road what appears to be a large rock milestone. Inscribed on it is the Italian summary of the battle: ‘Mancò la fortuna, non il valore’ (‘We were short on luck, not on bravery’).