Battle of San Martino
In 1859, during the Italian Risorgimento – the Second Italian War of Independence, – there was another greater battle here, more commonly called the Battle of Solferino or the Battle of Solferino and San Martino. Solferino was the largest battle since that at Leipzig in 1813. As a result of their defeat, the Austrians lost their grip on the region.
The village of San Martino was renamed San Martino della Battaglia and a tower, museum and ossuary have been erected as a monument to the battle and its fallen.
The site is a few kilometres to the South of Lago di Garda.
Nowadays the village is a frazione of the comune of Desenzano del Garda.
Businessman Henri Dunant was so affected by the plight of the wounded in the aftermath, that he embarked on a path that led to the formation of the Red Cross and the writing of the Geneva Convention. Each year, San Martino holds a festival to remember this battle.
