It was designed by architect Giovanni Greppi and solemnly inaugurated on 18 September 1938 in the presence of Benito Mussolini and over 50,000 soldiers who had fought on the Isonzo front in World War I.

[5][6][7][8][9] The shrine, built on the side of the hill, consists of 22 horizontal platforms of stone, arrayed in step-like progression, hosting the remains of 39,857 identified soldiers, arranged in alphabetic order.

At the base of the memorial, six sepulchres contain the remains of Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta (the commander of the Third Army, who died in 1931 and asked to be buried among his men) and five generals killed in action.

Leading up the monument is the Via Eroica ("heroic path"), which is flanked by 38 bronze plaques with the names of 38 locations on the Karst plateau where the fighting was bloodiest.

A museum with war relics, reconstructions and panels about the history of the Third Army and the battles of the Isonzo is located between Monte Sei Busi and the Colle di Sant'Elia.