MEMORY AND THE WAR MUSEUM OF PIEDIMONTE SAN GERMANO

The  Museum of Memory and War of Piedimonte San Germano a project carried out by Associazione Antares Ets which for almost twenty years has been operating in the territory of Southern Lazio for the promotion of culture, the enhancement of artistic heritage and historical memory.
The Museum of the memory of Piedimonte San Germano is being built in several phases. The multimedia project is launched which, through the paths of memory, the testimonies of civilians, the places of memory, the panels of the battle tell two years of suffering, the drama of the civilian population forced to displace twice and the total destruction of the ancient town of Piedimonte San Germano.

In the next phase, a structure will be built that will make available the Archive of Memory consisting of audio and video recordings of civilian testimonies, documents from the London National Archives on the Battle of Piedimonte, microfilms of Allied air raids from the archives. and the Library of Memory made up of numerous books published on the war period including those in the History and Memory series of the Antares Association.

The war in Piedimonte San Germano does not take place only in the last week of May 1944, as is often said, but begins much earlier and ends much later. Already in July 1943 with the bombing of Aquino Airport there were victims and extensive damage. In September 1943 the town was fortified and over the following weeks it became the bulwark of the Hitler Line. It undergoes continuous aerial bombardments by the Allies who attempted to destroy the fortifications and was hit by the tremendous bombing of the nearby Abbey of Montecassino on February 15, 1944. In the meantime, the population suffered forced displacement and was forcibly removed from the town. In the last week of May 1944, after the conquest of Montecassino, the Poles will launch the definitive attack to break through the Line and Piedimonte San Germano turns into a pile of rubble.
The path we propose through this multimedia project will allow users to explore and learn about the suffering of civilians and the devastation caused by war.