Colonna Votiva Dixmude - Sciacca

The column was erected at the express wish of Don Michele Arena, the religious man from Sacce who, more than anyone else, wanted to keep alive the bond between Sciacca and France , the homeland of the sailors who died during the tragedy . It is no coincidence that at the top of the column is the bronze statue of Notre Dame de Fourvière.

In this place the victims of Dixmude were commemorated for many years at the initiative of Father Arena, and the inauguration ceremony of the column was moving when the French authorities came to Sciacca.

The Dixmude crashed at Sciacca on 21 December 1923 due to lightning . On board were 50 crew members commanded by Captain Jean du Plessis De Grenedan, whose body was found entangled in fishing nets a few days later.

In honor of the dead, an ossuary monument was erected in 1927 in the cemetery of Sciacca, while next to the Lourdes Grotto, in the religious complex of Giummare, the bust of the commander of the airship was placed, discovered in 1958 in the presence of the son of the commander.

Willem Vandenameele