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Interview with a survivor of the Cordenons bombings (informant A)
The interviewee recalls her wartime years at Cordenons, from the day the outbreak of the war was announced on the radio. She describes how she anticipated the air raid siren with a mixture of elation and fear, being somewhat eager to skip school. She…
Interview with a survivor of the Cordenons bombings (informant B)
The interviewee recalls wartime episodes in Cordenons and the Pordenone area. She mentions aircraft en route to Austrian targets contrasted by anti-aircraft fire, while she was taking shelter in a ditch, and remembers the bombings of Casarsa and the…
Interview with Ettore Raffin
Ettore Raffin describes his early life in wartime Cordenons, his father being in America and his brother at Friedrichshafen. He remembers watching masses of aircraft heading north enroute to targets in Germany, maintaining that bombers took off from…
Interview with Anna Maria Serafini
Anna Maria Serafini recalls her teenage life in Bologna as the fiancée of Luigi Pasetti, a civilian pilot later enlisted as torpedo bomber pilot. She describes how she got married and mentions Italian First World War pilot, Ferruccio Ranza, who acted…
Interview with Paola Giorgina Pasini
Paola Giorgina Pasini provides details of her early life in a family of agricultural workers and favourably compares their conditions with those living in urban areas. She recalls the ominous sight of target indicators and flares and remembers…
Interview with Alessandra Rivalta
Alessandra Rivalta recalls her early life, first as member of Opera Nazionale Balilla then as an undergraduate student at the faculty of humanities. She describes the start of the war, early anti-aircraft precautions and wartime life: food shortages;…
Interview with Giglio Mazzi
Giglio Mazzi (b. 1927) recalls his early life in Reggio Emilia, born into a family with strong anti-fascist sentiments. He describes his first job at the Reggiane works, then at the local labour inspectorate, where he was attached to a debris…
Interview with Marisa Bianchi
Marisa Bianchi remembers her wartime years at Sesso, a rural hamlet in the Reggio Emilia province. She talks about the abundance of locally farmed food and emphasises how billeted German troops were friendly and supportive, even if she and her family…
Interview with Luigi Cabrini
Luigi Cabrini describes his daily life in a rural community, stressing the labour-intensive nature of farming in wartime. He tells of Pippo bombing at night and reminisces about an interrupted schooling history in Pavia and Voghera, due to strafing,…
Interview with Rinaldo Sarani
Rinaldo Sarani tells of the bombings of Pavia describing widespread damage at Borgo Ticino and people being extricated from rubble. He stresses the importance of bridges: Ponte della Ferrovia, Ponte Vecchio, Ponte dell’Impero, Ponte della Becca, and…
Interview with Carluccio Intropido
Carluccio Intropido recalls his early life as an orphan studying in Pavia at the Artigianelli, a boarding school providing technical training. He recalls that children used to watch aircraft enroute to Milan, until Pavia was bombed, due to the…
Interview with Celestino Chiesa
Celestino Chiesa remembers his wartime memories as a schoolboy in Pavia, attending the Artigianelli boarding school, including: food shortages; rationing; “Pippo” bombing at night; machine-gun nests along the Ticino river; a friend joining the…
Interview with a survivor of the Voghera bombings (informant B)
The interviewee recollects his wartime memories in Voghera and describes how bombings, strafing, and “Pippo” flying at night became part of everyday life and how the population tried to cope. He gives a vivid and detailed account of the August 1944…
A survivor of the Voghera bombings (informant A)
The interviewee reminisces about her wartime experiences in the Voghera countryside, at the time when her three brothers where enlisted and how difficult it was for her parents to run the farm. She remembers how she narrowly escaped an aircraft…
Interview with Sandro Boiocchi
Sandro Boiocchi remembers wartime memories at Travacò, in the Pavia area and mentions various episodes: food shortages; the black market; fascist and German roundups; Pippo flying at night; bombing of bridges; giving shelter to evacuees. He explains…
Interview with Andreino Pagano
Andreino Pagano (b. 1934) remembers his wartime experiences in the Pavia province. He explains how a parish church provided a good shelter owing to its thick walls. He recalls various stories: resorting to the black market; the bombing of the Voghera…
Interview with Gabriella Bisio and Teresa Mascherpa
Gabriella Bisio and Teresa Mascherpa recollect the bombing of Pavia and give a vivid description of its immediate aftermath. They describe food shortages, resorting to eating potatoes with milk and queuing up for a portion of salt. Gabriella tells…
Interview with Tullio Magnani
Tullio Magnani remembers his wartime years in the Pavia province. Although his father was blacklisted as a subversive communist, he did not have any trouble at school. He recounted his role as a young resistance helper smuggling food rationing…
Interview with three survivors of the Po valley bombings
The group remembers wartime hardships endured near Pavia and Piacenza. They recalled several stories, such as a farmhouse being thoroughly searched for partisans; children questioned; people injured by shell splinters; a makeshift dugout used as…
Interview with Pietro Varesi
Pietro Varesi describes wartime life in Pavia, focussing on the Borgo neighbourhood. He mentions the Ticino bridges as primary targets for bombers; recalls bent shop shutters and debris on the streets; stresses the limited accuracy of bombing and the…
Interview with Angela Bianchi
Angela Bianchi remembers wartime life in the outskirts of Pavia, where she lived on a farm with other families. She recalls her experiences of being bombed while working in a clothes factory, situated close to one of the most important Ticino…
Interview with Federico Martinotti
Federico Martinotti reminisces over the Pavia bombing on the 26 September 1944, describes the effects on the buildings near the Ticino River (the old bridge being the aiming point of the attack), mentions the salvaging of valuable items from the…
Interview with Franco Nocchieri
Franco Nocchieri recalls his early years as an orphan living in several different towns in the Province of Pavia. He describes the bombing of the Voghera railway station, which started while he was heading to school. He goes on to explain how he and…
Interview with Enrica Mariani
Enrica Mariani recollects her wartime experiences in Milan: her brother dying of bronchitis after spending too much time in the shelter and her father working in an armaments factory; the aggressive fascist militiamen and the long hours she spent in…
Interview with Guido Dell’Era
Guido Dell’Era recollects daily life in wartime Milan, stressing inadequate war preparation. He describes a disciplined, regimented society which later turned to disillusionment. He recollects the declaration of war, the fall of the fascist regime…