In the province of Burgos, on the border with Cantabria and at an altitude of around one thousand meters, stands one of the most unusual structures in the Spanish landscape. Known as “La Pirámide de los Italianos”, this curious monument was built as a mausoleum. It held the ashes of 384 Italian soldiers who died in the Battle of Santander. In 1975 their remains were exhumed, and since then the site has been left abandoned.
The building is reached via the N-623 road, near the Puerto del Escudo mountain pass. Right across from it there is a rest area with a small parking lot. The land where the pyramid stands is fenced off, and a small sign warns that it is a hunting area. I must admit that I did not see hunters, boars or deer, but I did see a few tourists who completely ignored the sign, myself included.
The pyramid is in quite poor condition, but it is one of those structures that somehow looks better with a bit of decay. It is not particularly large, only about twenty meters tall, yet despite its modest size it is remarkably striking and leaves an impression. You can enter the interior through a small opening in the front, just below a huge letter M that reminds me of the logo of a well known email service. The inside is dark, faintly lit by small cross-shaped openings. The space is circular and filled with niches where the soldiers once rested. It is a fragment of history mistreated by neglect, and one that deserves to be visited before it is lost to the passing of time.
