Air Raid Victims Commemorative Plaque (2)

In 1943, with Italy still at war alongside Nazi Germany, Sardinia and Cagliari became an important strategic target for the Allied air force.

Due to the very serious material and especially human losses endured, on 12 May 1950 the President of the Republic Luigi Einaudi awarded the city the gold medal for military value.

Even today, by watching the few films of that time, the scenario of death and devastation caused by the bombing of familiar and dear places appears unreal.

At 12:55 on Sunday 28 February, the third and bloodiest raid on Cagliari began. In about two hours, 85 planes dropped 538 bombs for 123 tons of explosives. The Palace of the Customs and the Railways of the State station were destroyed, much of the Roma Street fell into disrepair. Already unusable due to the lack of electricity, the sirens did not sound the alarm and many people were surprised away from the shelters: according to official figures, 200 citizens lost their lives, a few hundred others were injured.

The commemorative epigraph of the victims, placed by the associations of arms in 2003 reads:

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 28, 1943

THE ATROCITY OF THE WAR SUBJECTED THE WORKING AND PEACEFUL CITY OF CAGLIARI TO REPEATED DEVASTANT BOMBARDMENTS IN THIS PLACE THE ENEMY AIRCRAFT CAUSED TO OUR NOBLE CITY DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

IN MEMORY OF THE INNOCENT VICTIMS