In the Don Bosco district of Bolzano, directly on the Via Resia road, you'll find an easily overlooked, black archway. It marks the beginning of the Passage of Remembrance (Passage der Erinnerung), which commemorates Europe's darkest years, the Second World War, with texts, images, and timelines. This site was once the location of the Nazi "Bolzano Transit Camp".

In 1944/45, around 11,000 people were deported here. It was one of four Nazi camps established in Italy after the armistice of September 8, 1944. Many of those deported were transported from Bolzano to other countries and concentration camps, from which most never returned. Several years ago, this place of remembrance was created - initiated through research by the Bolzano Town Archives and supported by the Association of Former Deportees, the Association of Italian Partisans, and the Jewish Community.

The Passage runs along the former camp wall, the only remaining part. The centrepiece is a 13-metre-long glass panel composed of 32 glass plates, bearing the names of the women, men, and children documented as having passed through the camp. An LED wall behind it illuminates the names in sequence. The memorial is supplemented by information panels with images of original objects and listening stations with accounts from former deportees. The most recent addition is a pedestrian and cycle path leading from the Passage into the new Casanova district.

How to get there: The Passage of Remembrance branches off approximately halfway along the Via Resia road and can be reached on foot, by bicycle, or by bus lines 3 and 9 (stops nearby). Parking spaces are scarce in the area. Just a ten-minute walk away is the Semi-Rural House, which also offers insights into the city's history, in this case, Bolzano in the 1930s.