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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 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 Sara Ventriglia
Sara Ventriglia, the daughter of a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, recalls her early life in wartime Milan. She describes the alarm being sounded and she and her family getting quickly dressed to reach a nearby shelter. She recollects moments…
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 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 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 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 Guido Di Blas and Ilario Bolletti
Guido Di Blas (pictured on the left) and Ilario Bolletti (pictured on the right) recount wartime memories associated with the town of Monfalcone and the surrounding area. They describe a severe night of bombing, recalling the ominous sight of target…
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 Stefania Vischi
Stefania Vischi recalls her wartime life in the Monfalcone area and recalls how she spent long hours alone inside a shelter, frightened by explosions and tremors. She contrasts the horror of being at the receiving end of the bombing war and the…
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 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 Gino Muratori
Gino Muratori (b. 1929) recollects three Rimini bombings that occurred in November 1944, one of which was aimed at the Ausa river bridge. He mentions his grandmother losing two relatives when their boarding house was destroyed, and recalls how, on 26…
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 Giuseppe Pirovano
Giuseppe Pirovano describes his wartime memories as schoolboy at Affori, a Milan neighbourhood, and daily life in fascist youth organisations, with regimented schooling and political rallies. He talks about children’s games and pastimes, such as…
Interview with Piero Fiorot
Piero Fiorot reminisces about his pre-war life in Sacile: schooling; fascist paramilitary training and indoctrination; curfews; rationing; and doing business in a tightly controlled, closed economic system. He contrasts the relatively tranquil life…
Interview with Annamaria De Manzano Vici
Annamaria De Manzano Vici recalls her wartime childhood in Trieste and describes the struggle of her all female family, coping with fear, hunger, and difficulties in finding food supplies. She remembers the run to the public shelter and the terror…
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 Lidia Vendramin
Lidia Vendramin recalls her childhood in Sacile, including details on her primary schooling, family, and town life. She contrasts the public manifestations of joy the day the war was declared, with the shock and dismay of her parents, whose lives had…
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 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…
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 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 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 Marco Pederielli
Marco Pederielli describes his father’s career as a Regia Aeronautica officer, providing details of his service in North Africa. He describes his personal situation after the fall of the Fascist regime, when he, reluctantly, joined the Aeronautica…