Museum

The Museo della Repubblica di Montefiorino e della Resistenza Italiana (Museum of the Republic of Montefiorino and Italian Resistance) in Montefiorino presents the history of local resistance to German and fascist occupation in 1943-45, with an emphasis on the partisan Republic of Montefiorino which existed in 1944 before being repressed by German forces.

The Fondazione Villa Emma (Villa Emma Foundation) is a cultural centre and historic organization established in Nonantola to commemorate the actions of the town and its residents in housing and sheltering 73 Jewish children and youth between Summer 1942 and Fall 1943. A total of 73 youth between the ages of six and 21 arrived in Nonantola over this period in two large refugee groups: the first from Germany and Austria on July 17, 1942, the second from Bosnia and Croatia on April 10, 1943.

The Museo della Resistenza Piacentina (Piacentina Resistance Musuem) presents the history of Italian resistance to German and Fascist occupation in the Province of Piacentina from 1943-45. Exhibits display period artifacts including weapons and uniforms employed by local partisans.

The museum is administered and operated by local volunteers, who also provide guided hiking tours of former partisan trails. The museum was inaugurated on April 25, 2009.  

The Museo della Memoria: Sicilia 1943 (Memorial Museum: Sicily 1943) in Modica presents the history of the Allied Landings in Sicily beginning July 10, 1943, and the course of the subsequent fighting in Sicily. The museum employs a large collection of physical artifacts – weapons and equipment, military uniforms, vehicles, etc. – in addition to period documents and photographs to document the course of the Sicily campaign and present the perspectives and identities of different participants, including the people of Sicily. 

The Archivio della Resistenza e della Memoria (Archives of Resistance and Memory) in Barletta is an ongoing archival project, cataloguing and making available to the public wartime records of the city’s experience during the Second World War. Specific areas of publicized documentation include resistance to German and fascist occupation from 1943-45, records of local military and civilian executions and unmarked graves, and testimonies from local witnesses and survivors of the Holocaust.    

The Museo della Battaglia di Ortona (Battle of Ortona Museum) presents the history of the Battle of Ortona (December 20-28, 1943) between the German 1st Parachute Division and the Canadian 1st Infantry Division and 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade. Part of the Allied advance northwards, Ortona was fiercely defended and house-to-house fighting occurred. A Canadian victory after eight days of combat resulted in steep casualties: more than 800 German, and approximately 2000 Canadian. 

The Museo Historiale di Cassino (Cassino Historical Museum) presents the Second World War-era history of Cassino. The city is particularly significant for the long and bloody Battle of Monte Cassino (January 1944 to May 1944), in which approximately 55 000 Allied soldiers lost their lives (against 20 000 German casualties) to achieve a breakthrough in the advance towards Rome.