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Civitella in Val di Chiana
We parked in a small piazza, got out of the car
and found our lives in Italy were forever changed by the medieval village of Civitella. High on a hill, it commands a sweeping view of the Valdichiana, which was the reason it was built around 1000 AD as a fortress town to protect Arezzo against attacks from Florence and Siena.
The present buildings date back to the 1200s when Civitella was rebuilt and fortified and peace was negotiated. It is easy to see why the German/Fascist troops in WW II chose Civitella as a last-ditch stronghold during the advancing onslaught of the Allies. It commanded a superb view of the British attack on Arezzo and movement up the valley. The citizens of the village, awaiting the end of the conflict,t found their world began to unravel on the night of June 18, 1945. Toward dark, several partisans left their base in the surrounding woods and surged into the German recreation center. Two German soldiers were killed, one injured, and one escaped. Afraid of a reprisal, many of the townsfolk fled to the woods.
The village priest and some women stayed in the town
attending to the burial of the German soldiers. In the
following days, the threat of reprisal seemed to diminish,
and the Germans took advantage to urge the people to
return. They were told that there was no danger and that
they were preparing to evacuate. When eleven days
had passed without problems, the townspeople began to
return for the celebration of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Day. As the bells pealed on the morning of June 29, 1944 the massacre began…first, outside the village area where people were taken, shot in the back of the head, or machine gunned. Meanwhile, inside the village walls, the Germans rounded up all the men, more than one hundred, and held them in groups of five in the piazza by the village well. Women and children were herded to a nearby gate and forced to leave. The priest, joined his parishoners in the piazza to offer them prayer and solace. He and over 100 other men were put to death by the piazza well. (1)
The tragic crime is memorialized in magnificent bas relief
bronze panels on the doors of the church and the walls around the square. The church door, entitled The
Door of Peace, topped by a covey of bronze doves in flight, portrays, on the left, the ravages of ancient war. On the right, I assume modern man is proffering peace. The two panels are divided by a cross, supported in the center by a pair of hands.
At the end of the street running off of the piazza, stand
the ruins of the old castle. I am not sure if this was
destroyed in 1944 or earlier, but it is a powerful site
to visit. Architecturally stunning, even in its damaged
condition, it is made of the creamy honey colored stone of so many Tuscan buildings. It looks as though a giant artist had taken the bombs (or stone throwers and battering rams in another time) and crafted a sculpture to honor all fallen dwellings. I am reminded of the World Trade Center Towers as I stand on the grassy carpet beneath the ramparts. How strange that with all of our history, we do not seem to learn from experience…
particularly in terms of war and our treatment of our fellow humans. Civitella was 1944, or perhaps 1200, today is 2014, and the stone buildings blown apart in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya look much like this one.
We take all of our visitors to Civitella as soon as possible,
some right after they have deposited their suitcases on the bedroom floor. It is right somehow. This visit provides Americans with an important understanding of their close relationship to the Italian people. It gives them knowledge of Italy, its ties to the Americanos of World War II, and insight into this brave and beautiful country that is not to be found on the tourist trails. (2)
(1) The Massacre of Civitella in Val di Chiana. Published by the
families of the victims of the massacre. Italian text: Balo, Ida.
English translation: Sheriden, Kieron. Date unk. print.
(2) Excerpts from Musick, Pat, The Piero Affair:with side trips, 2014. In print, pending publication.
Author
Pat Musick C.
Location
Category
Publication Date
06 May 2014 - 16:13:17
