The Battle of San Pietro Project

A WWII Conflict Archaeology Investigation

Project Information
 The Battle for Monte Cassino. It was the Stalingrad of the Italian Campaign. The German Wehrmacht, masters of defensive warfare, created a landscape of concealed machine-gun nests, deep dugouts, concrete bunkers, and underground tunnels, shelters, and command posts across the Italian landscape. American, Australian, Canadian, British, French, Indian, New Zealand, Polish, and South African soldiers fought for six months, between October 1943 and May 1944, to defeat them. The result was some of the most ferocious fighting of the Second World War. The total cost was 100,000 dead and wounded.
The abandoned hill-town of San Pietro Infine stands as a monument to this epic struggle. This will be the anchor of a ground-breaking new archaeological project – the first attempt at a comprehensive field-based investigation of an entire Second World War battlefield. Working closely with Italian colleagues and the local Italian community, Military History Live volunteers will begin our third field season in September 2025. Join us. Be a part of this major project. 

A team of specialists and volunteers were involved in the hugely successful first field and second seasons, which took place in May 2019 and September 2024. Our focus was on the San Pietro Infine ruins/national monument and its wider landscape context, a swathe of mountain country extending from the slopes of Monte Lungo to the summit of Monte Sammucro, the site of the Battle of San Pietro, 8-17 December 1943.  Our second field season will build on, and expand this work, with new specific areas of interest arising out of the first season's research. A testament to the success of the first and second seasons is that many of the volunteers signed up to return for the next season.

Military History Live is building partnerships with the San Pietro Infine community, with the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, and with other Italian organisations. We are also now partnering with Project Recover, an organisation dedicated to the recovery of US military personnel missing in action, of whom there is a large number in the region and battle we are studying.   We will be sharing personnel, expertise and experience,  to better assist the work of both projects. We will be reporting to the local archaeological authorities, the Soprintendenza Archaeologia belle arti e paesaggio per le province di Caserta e Benevento. We will be publishing both formal reports and popular summaries, and will be involved in a range of public presentation and community-engagement activities.

All volunteers will be fully integrated into small work-teams under expert supervision, and will be rotated to ensure everyone experiences a range of activities, including excavation, survey, and wider battlefield exploration. Experienced archaeologists and amateurs/beginners alike are welcome to join the volunteer team. Everyone will get the chance to visit some of the key places involved in the wider battle, including the medieval village of San Pietro Infine, where we have our headquarters, Monte Sammucro, Monte Lungo, and Monte Camino, the River Rapido, Snakeshead Ridge, and of course Monte Cassino itself. Also included in the cost are excursion visits to other sites pertinent to the Italian Campaign in 1943/4, and meeting with local people who were present during the 1943 attack on the village, and/or their descendants.

We have two modes of attendance for paying volunteers - either staying at a Hotel in Cassino with full board* in single occupancy rooms (Option 1 below), or attending each day for the fieldwork only(Option 2 below).

There has been an increase in all our in-country costs of around 16% since the 2024 season, which is reflected in these season's costs for volunteers. 

The cost for new volunteers for season 3  is shown below, and for those opting to stay in the hotel, will be completely inclusive of 4-star hotel accommodation, all meals (full breakfast options, packed lunch*, and dinner), training and materials, use of project transport and equipment, transport to and from working sites. This is fully inclusive, apart from flights to Italy and travel to Cassino, as we have volunteers from all over the world, so we ask them to arrange and pay for their own flights to Rome to suit themselves. The journey from Rome to Cassino by train is easy and cheap, and an information leaflet will be provided. We will endeavour to collect arrivals by car from Cassino station if possible, and transfer to the hotel. 

For those wishing to make their own board and accommodation arrangements, there is the opportunity to join us each day for the fieldwork only. Transport to and from the working sites is not included, and participants choosing this option will need to make their own arrangements. This has been solved on other projects by sharing travel in their hire cars, although in previous seasons only one person has chosen this, with everyone else opting for the hotel.

PLEASE NOTE - this project will only run on these dates if we recruit sufficient volunteers. If we are unable to cover our costs, we will postpone and find new dates. 

Costs for 2025 volunteers:
Option 1: Staying at Hotel in Cassino with the Project Team, including full board (packed lunch)* and accommodation:
A)  in single occupancy double rooms - £3049 pp      B) couples sharing a double room - £2540 pp

​Option 2: Attending the complete daily fieldwork program only - £1675 pp

NOTE: All volunteers who attended in 2024 will be contacted individually and offered a loyalty discount, as promised

We will require a deposit of £100 payable by May 10th 2025 for all volunteers. This is fully refundable if we are not able to recruit sufficient volunteers, It is non-refundable if we go ahead, and you have to withdraw, (which should be covered by your personal travel insurance, which you should ensure is valid before you pay the deposit).  Balance payable by July 10th 2025. Other information including activities, and what to bring in terms of footwear, clothing, etc will be sent to all confirmed registrants  after receipt of balance, before end July 2025.

To reserve a place please email to [email protected]. 
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