A must-see, the Historiale of Cassino



Posted: Monday, January 04, 2010

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The territory of Monte Cassino has been hard hit during the Second World War. Unfortunately, the famous battle of Monte Cassino has devastated the area and killed thousands of civilians, harshly marking an area so beautiful by history and tradition.

The Battle of Cassino, in its four phases, is still considered today one of the most important and discussed battles of the Second World War. Between 15 and 18 February 1944, as a result of the Anglo-American bombing raids, due to a hasty decision of the controls, mistakenly convinced that the monastery was turned into a German strongpoint, dropped tons of bombs on Monte Cassino, incessantly, until the destruction, reducing it in a pile of stones, of all that for almost a millennium and half the Benedictine culture and work had built. Destroyed the Abbey after the bombing on 18 February, the Germans were still there, unharmed, ready to place their artillery and machine guns, spewing fire for three months until the following May. The Allied had to raze the entire town of Cassino and many surrounding countries, including Piedimonte S. Germano and Cervaro, before breaking the Gustav Line and gain open access to Rome and then to Liberation. 

To remember this tragic period, the Historiale of Cassino was built, a space to recount these events so shocking to everybody's life. A war museum, which is not only a museum, an exhibition or a movie. With the traditional concept of the museum shares the concentration of experience in a physical space. With a modern set has in common a scenic and educational thought. From the cinema takes some figurative language and the ability to tell through the emotions. During the visit, there is a sense of moving into a story that is not composed only by history but also from memory, the lives of those who has passed through events and suffered. 

The inhabitants of the areas traversed by the Gustav line, were involved in the conflict before by the Nazi repression and, indirectly, by Allied bombing, suffering then, during the liberation carried on by French troops, an unexpected and enormous mass rape, whose scope is still now difficult to quantify and which, even today, no military tribunal was never interested in. The history of World War II and especially the history of the Italy Campaign has many controversial events and often dramatic, of which this is certainly a striking example. The Battle of Monte Cassino is one of the most bloodthirsty during the eight months of this campaign, with its huge toll of lives both military and civilian. Whole villages were razed to the ground and the lives of the survivors could not be the same, many decided to emigrate, some stayed to rebuild from the ashes of the countries that have completely disappeared from maps. To always remember this barbarity was built so the Historiale, a place of collective memory not only for locals but for all Italians.

This article was written by Martina Meneghetti with support from  museo della guerra  for any information, please visit museo seconda guerra or for insurance visit cause seconda guerra mondiale
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