Civico Museo della Risiera di San Sabba, Trieste

After hearing so much about this place from a friend who was there the day the chimney blew up in 1945, I was eager to see it for myself while on vacation. Make no mistake thinking this place was a holiday compared to other prison camps - this one was purely about killing and they didn't care if you were a child or not. Firstly, I'm grateful they've declared this site a museum for visitors to learn from and reflect on, however I feel there needs to be a lot more information provided at the site. To anyone walking in off the street with no knowledge of the Risiera's history, you will be bitterly disappointed. There's only the bare basic information and a few relics from survivors which I felt needed to be better placed in order to achieve any effect. I found the rooms themselves (death cell, prison cells, room of crosses) quite disappointing in terms of detail. Sure, the actual physical aspect was still eerie, but I felt for the sake of educating others, there needed to be more detailed information about what went on in each room. I still have no idea about the significance of the room of crosses! Sure, I don't speak or read Italian, which I assume had all the facts and figures, but I found more information through searching online (in one instance I found a page of horrific survivor stories) than I did reading the brochure. Overall, it's worth the visit for the sake of remembering and honoring those who were murdered there. However, you can't help but walk out with a lot of unanswered questions, so grab yourself a book or get online and research first.