The inscription at the top of the cross says, simply,
AI CADUTI / ADUA / 1896 / NON / DOBBIAMO / DIMENTICARTI
"To the Fallen." Below the date of the battle, 1896, are inscribed the words "We should never forget you." Ethiopian forces led by Emperor Menelik II defeated the Italian army that day, marking the first time an African army prevailed over European armed forces. The defeat ended Italy's attempt to conquer Ethiopia in the 19th century. I was both surprised and moved that the memorial has survived. I don't know when it was built - shame on me - but I'd guess it dates to the Italian occupation of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 at the earliest. I'm surprised the memorial wasn't destroyed when Emperor Haile Selassie I was restored to power in 1941, or during the communist Derg regime that followed Selassie's ouster, the war that took out the Derg, or the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. I suspect the memorial hasn't always been in the pristine condition pictured here. It would not surprise me if there's an agreement between the Ethiopian and Italian governments to ensure the continued upkeep of this memorial to a lost cause.

If Americans or any other members of the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" are foolish enough to erect memorials in Iraq outside the Green Zone or other highly secure locations, I predict the populace will demolish them before the dust from the departing dedication convoy has settled.