The Situational

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The SwissAir Memorial Committee, formed in 1998, was headed by former Justice Lorne Clarke, who held multiple open houses and meetings with family and community members to ensure their voices were heard regarding the memorial’s design (SwissAir Memorial Commission 1998; Ellison 2011; Kimber 2013). The two sites chosen, Whalesback and Bayswater, form a triangle with the site of the original crash, connected by lines used in the designs.

The Bayswater memorial is fairly secluded, designed specifically for people directly connected to the crash, such as family members and people who helped the recovery effort. There is a large granite wall listing the names of those who perished unless the family requested their loved ones’ names be excluded. Along with the names, “In memory of the 229 men, women and children aboard Swissair Flight 111 who perished off these shores September 2, 1998. They have been joined to the sea and the sky. May they rest in peace. In grateful recognition of all those who worked tirelessly to provide assistance in the recovery operations and comfort to the families and their friends during a time of distress” is inscribed (Kimber 2013). Below the wall, 27 caskets holding the unidentified remains recovered from the site are buried. People have placed mementos and artifacts alongside the wall in honor of their loved ones, such as stones and flowers. To the right of the wall, there is another granite monument, with “three large fin-like slabs lined up in a row to refer to Flight 111” with benches in between (Burial services for Swissair Flight 111 victims 1999). The joint lines of the paving under the monuments point towards the Whalesback Memorial in one direction and the crash site in the other, and there is a historical marker describing the crash, its aftermath, and the memorial’s design nearby (Swissair Flight 111 Memorial Bayswater 1999).

The Whalesback memorial is the more public of the two and consists of two large smooth granite stones, meant to blend into the rocky coastal landscape (Ellison 2011, 26). One of the granite stones has the number 111 carved out of the top, creating crevices where people sometimes place mementos such as flowers and teddy bears. The structure was specifically designed to “stand behind the viewer, so that their attention is drawn first and foremost to the crash site” (Ellison 2011, 91). Below the monuments, the joint lines point toward the Bayswater memorial in one direction and the crash site in the other (Swissair Flight 111 Memorial Whalesback 1999). In between the structures and the water are three stone benches for visitors to sit, and they can either view the water or the monuments themselves. Intended to be the more public site, a sign describing the crash and its aftermath is located nearby. Engraved between the monuments are words in both English and French “In memory of the 229 men, women and children aboard Swissair Flight 111 who perished off these shores September 2, 1998. They have been joined to the sea and the sky. May they rest in peace. In grateful recognition of all those who worked tirelessly to provide assistance in the recovery operations and comfort to the families and their friends during a time of distress” (Kimber 2013).

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Both the city and province of Bergamo, Italy faced unfathomable death and loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Pope John Paul III Hospital was at the center of it all, ultimately inspiring the Forest of Memory (Bosca della Memoria) project. Designed by architect Paola Cavallini of the A+C Architecture Studio of Parma and agronomist Roberto Reggiana, the grove lies directly across the street from the hospital in Trucca Park (The Forest of Memory 2023). There are 130 fruit trees, 70 forest trees, 90 small trees, approximately 600 shrubs, and approximately 8,000 daffodil bulbs planted in the grove, which is “made up of islands, tree-lined circles joined together by internal walkways with rest points with seats and lighting. Each island boasts an explanatory totem that tells the spirit of the Bosco project and, at the center of the memorial, there is the arena around which are engraved all the names of those who made it possible through their donations” to create this memorial. It is meant to be a living memorial, a place that breathes and grows along with the city (The Forest of Memory 2023).