Railwaymen Commemorative Plaque

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.

Inside the railway station of Cagliari there is the commemorative plaque for deceased workers. The commemorative epigraph of the victims reads:

IN MEMORY OF THE SACRIFICE AND MARTYRDOM

OF RAILWAYS OF SARDINIA

THAT IN WARS AND BOMBARDS

MADE AN HOLOCAUST OF THEIR LIVES

SO THAT THE HOMELAND LIVED