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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 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 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 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…
Interview with Annunciata Buffadossi
Annunciata Buffadossi recollects her wartime life in Milan. Annunciata describes poor-quality housing in a low-class neighbourhood close to potential targets; emphasises how much she feared Germans and Fascists; and speaks with affection of her old…
Interview with Marialuigia Buffadossi
Marialuigia Buffadossi remembers her wartime life in the Lombardy region. Born in a low-class neighbourhood with poor-quality housing, she first worked as a shorthand clerk for a solicitor and was then employed by a major bank. She remembers her…
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…
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 Adriana Ventriglia
Adriana Ventriglia remembers the bombings of Milan. She talks about her evacuee life in the Lodi countryside and describes how her father was injured in a train strafing. She mentions her early life in a mixed family, the impact on anti-Semitic laws,…
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 Gualtiero Silvio Cosolo
Gualtiero Silvio Cosolo recalls attending the Ceriani vocational school in Monfalcone, and every day at the same time the air raid siren went off and the children would run to the nearest shelter. He describes the bombing of 7 March 1944 and the…
Interview with Francesco and Maria Gigliola Rapozzi
Francesco and Maria Gigliola Rapozzi remember wartime life in Monfalcone. They recall the day the shipyard was engulfed in flames after a severe bombing raid and mention the high number of casualties among civilians. They remember various stories:…
Interview with Mario Commisso
Mario Commisso remembers his early years when he lived in the Codroipo area, close to the Rivolto air base. He recalls his brother being born on 28 February 1941, during a severe bombing raid during which the bombers were attacked by anti-aircraft…
Interview with Livio Ponte
Livio Ponte remembers his wartime life in Monfalcone. He describes the frightening moments when the alarm sounded, usually at night, and people rushed to the shelters for safety. He mentions different attitudes: his parents going to a shelter whereas…
Interview with Gianfranco Nardi
Gianfranco Nardi (b. 1933) recalls the first bombing of Cesenatico in 1944, a night action carried out by 'Pippo'. He explains how the aircraft missed the train station and hit the nearby town centre; he maintains that the pilot was drunk. He…
Interview with Marta Papotti
Marta Papotti (b. 1937) remembers the bombings of Turin and how she and her family dashed to the shelter in the basement. She recalls the sense of community and describes people reciting the rosary or just chatting. She describes how her father, the…
Interview with Laura Perego
Laura Perego (b. 1919) tells how her village, on the outskirts of Milan, went through the war almost unscathed, despite being close to an ammunition dump and other potential targets. She remembers a mysterious, badly dressed man who lived in a nearby…
Interview with Corrado Marenco
Corrado Marenco (b. 1940) describes various wartime anecdotes: a makeshift shelter dug in his garden where he and other children had fun despite the danger of 'Pippo'; how his father had to hide inside the bell tower of a church to escape from German…
Interview with Maria Malagni
Maria Malagni (b. 1921) remembers her difficult childhood and chequered schooling history. She recalls wartime episodes: the death of her fiancé, an airman shot down over Brindisi; fascists seizing supplies; the capture of two partisans that her…
Interview with Alberto Dini
Alberto Dini recalls his wartime life in Trieste starting from the declaration of war until the end of the conflict. He describes life under the bombs, highlightin disruption of utilities, devastated streets and chequered schooling history. He…
Interview with Teresa Messali
Teresa Messali gives a brief account of pre-war life with her large family in a farmhouse near Bergamo. She mentions Pippo; describes the pressing need to find shelter during the bombings and tells how she frequently resorted to ditches. Teresa…
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 shortage;…