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Opinion: As new war rages, magnificent memorial to old war a testament to 'senselessness of war'

A powerful memorial in Italy, a testament to the consequences of war, is a reminder that more losses will come as US goes to war with Iran

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On a terrace above the Adriatic Sea in the Piazza Santa Teresa in Brindisi, Italy, there is a magnificent war memorial.

Evocative sculptures in pristine white Carrara marble by artist Edgardo Simone depict the many consequences of war. It is capped by a winged figure representing Victory, but the statues beneath tell more human tales.

A battle-weary warrior with an elaborately decorated shield is hunched over in sorrow or fatigue — or both — with his eyes cast down. On this day, his muscled marble form provides shelter to two pigeons, who coo in seeming sympathy.

The mother of a determined-looking boy with a sword points him in the direction of an unseen battlefield. You lament her loss in advance, knowing he may never return and that his name will likely be added to a roster of the fallen. The mother represents all those parents who support their child’s brave desire to fight for their country, and who, in doing so, suffer immense heartbreak.

That this loss is a regular occurrence is expressed in the sculpture of a grieving older woman, who touches her fallen son’s helmet while embracing a sad child who has been orphaned by the war. The figures are carved from stone, but the universal suffering they portray has stirred many a human heart.

The monument was erected in 1933 and is dedicated to the 500 people of this picturesque port city who lost their lives in the First World War.

Its base is a fountain of red Verona marble, whose quiet gurgling is a soothing counterpoint to the strong emotions that the monument evokes. A blog post on the art and history of Brindisi by Francesco Guadalupi says the war memorial was hailed for its “heroic grandeur and symbolic intent,” and indeed, the symbolism is as potent today as it was when it was first conceived.

Looking at Simone’s majestic work, it is hard not to think of the senselessness of war — of battles being waged today out of avarice and ambition, the desire to exert power and the need to deflect the world’s attention from other controversies.

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The American president who has clamoured publicly for a peace prize has now collaborated with Israel to wage war in Iran. Iran’s supreme leader and other key officials have been killed, and members of the American forces have lost their lives, but the fallout of war is never limited to those directly involved.

More than 170 Iranians were killed, most of them children, when an elementary school for girls was struck by a missile. Multiple hospitals have been severely damaged and Gulf states have been dragged into the conflict. American military aircraft are crashing in Kuwait and Iranian naval ships are being sunk.

Iran says it will not negotiate with the U.S., while President Donald Trump breezily tells reporters it’ll all be over in four weeks or so.

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“It won’t be difficult,” he said. “We have tremendous amounts of ammunition.”

Won’t be difficult for whom, exactly? And what precisely is all of this in aid of?

Well, that depends on the day. In explaining his rationale for war, Trump has cited everything from Tehran’s actions during the U.S. hostage crisis of 1979, to the bombing of a U.S. marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, to the need to liberate Iranians from a harsh regime, to Iran’s refusal to stand down on its nuclear weapons program — weapons that Trump claimed his country had “obliterated” during a military sortie last summer.

A recent episode of “Saturday Night Live” used Trump’s own words to discredit his logic, playing a clip from 2011 of the then “Apprentice” host decrying Barack Obama’s stance on Iran.

“Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate,” Trump says. “He’s weak and he’s ineffective.”

It was a touché moment but there’s no real satisfaction in pointing out the flaws and inconsistencies of Trump’s position.

Not when you consider that his actions will lead to more names being carved into monuments for the fallen, and more moments of contemplation, sorrow and regret for those left behind to mourn the senseless loss.

Pam Frampton is a freelance columnist who lives in St. John’s. Bluesky: @pamframpton.bsky.social | X: @Pam_Frampton.

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