Humanity has been characterized throughout history by building all kinds of buildings. With multiple purposes, among them, the adoration of divine figures or veneration of the leaders to achieve posterity.
Spain has countless places within its borders where there are authentic and magnificent buildings envied throughout the world. Every year thousands of tourists, both Spanish and foreign, decide to visit the most characteristic buildings of Spain, something that has led this country to be one of the leading nations in this area.
History or monuments are usually one of the main attractions of the country that, together with the sun and sand, make up a varied tourist offering. Spain also has thousands of places to visit if you are in search of unique curiosities, such as the fact that it is one of the nations with the largest number of World Heritage Sites.
Among all the wonders that the country hides, there is a singular building that has been abandoned since 1975. The Pyramid of the Italians is a unique structure in Spain that was built in 1939 to commemorate the combatants of the transalpine country in the Civil War.
Although these buildings are rightfully very famous in other countries such as Egypt or Mexico, in Spain this type of construction only has one representation. Thanks to the help that Benito Mussolini gave Franco during the Civil War, the Spanish dictator decided to honour the Italians who fell in the war.
This construction of more than 20 meters in height has a typical pyramidal structure covered with limestone plates. It is located in Burgos, in the Valdebezana Valley, Castilla y León, where its structure stands out above the landscape due to its unique shape.
The pyramid was inaugurated on August 26 to commemorate the victory over the Republicans in the Battle of Santander. Franco had the pyramid built to honour the fallen soldiers in 1937 whose architect was the Italian Pietro Giovanni Bergaminio.
In the early years, the pyramid was used to shelter more than 300 Italian soldiers who fell in the war, although in 1975 the Italian government claimed the bodies. From that moment on, the construction has been empty, although some still commemorate those soldiers today.
The main reason behind its construction was to bury the Italian soldiers with a grand inaugural ceremony led by the Foreign Minister and Mussolini's son-in-law at the site. Today the niches are still present in the pyramid with the plaques of the names of the deceased who occupied the place even though they are empty.