The interviewee is Mario Galardini, employment consultant, born at Castel di Casio (BO) on 15 August 1923. His brother Raffaello edges in, Lory Galardini and Annalia Galardini are also in the room. The interview was conducted by Claudio Rosati on 12 September 1984 at his house in Pistoia. During the first bombing of Pistoia, Mario Galardini was at home with his family and took shelter under the bed. Raffaello remembers the havoc wreaked on the city and the terror caused by the reconnaissance aircraft Pippo. Then, they were evacuated to Case Nuove and eventually to Case Vecchie. Mario Galardini was forced by Germans to clear up rubble in the heart of the city, with the fear of being deported to Germany. One day, at San Quirico, he saw a group of Germans looking for a place on top of the mountain.
A 35-second passage starting at 00:17:15 was removed at the interviewee’s explicit request.
The interviewee is Raffaella Sorsini, born at Vicchio (Florence province) on 25 May 1919, retired clerical worker. Present Marianna Galardini, born on 18 May 1897. The interviewer is Claudio Rosati, the interview took place in Pistoia on 12 July 1983, in his house.
During the first bombing of Pistoia, Raffaella Sorsini went with her mother to the Piazza della Resistenza [Piazza d’Armi] shelter. Marianna Galardini claims that the death toll of the first bombing was 120 people and that many detached homes in Via Pratese were destroyed. Following the move of her office to Villa Giacomelli, Raffaella Sorsini was evacuated to the countryside at Case Nuove, near San Rocco. Many times she fled to the Sant’Agostino area, at the time still rural. She says that she never feared being sexually harassed by Germans, but conversely, she was scared by US Marines at Villa di Celle: while she had to walk past, she was accompanied by her fiancée.