Total War in Maresca

Maresca is a hamlet of the municipality of San Marcello Piteglio, located on the Pistoiese Mountains at about 790 metres above sea level. After the German occupation, its territory was profoundly transformed by military operations carried out by the various armed forces.

Several resistance formations operated in the area, above all the Brigata Bozzi, and many local inhabitants joined the partisan movement. Their activity, mainly aimed at opposing the actions of the German occupiers, was constant and included armed actions and acts of sabotage. During these operations, some partisans were killed and later buried in the local cemetery, where the ‘Tomb of the Partisans’ is still present today: a large area where Garibaldi Brigade fighters were laid to rest, including those who died during the conflict and those who passed away from other causes after the war.

September 1944 was a dramatic month for the population. On 6th, 9th and 10th, the Allied air force carried out a series of air raids that caused 22 casualties and destroyed most of the village. A contributing factor was the likely presence in the area of Albert Kesselring, commander of the German armed forces in Italy, who was retreating with his troops beyond the Gothic Line after staying in Monsummano and Villa di Celle in Santomato. Maresca was liberated together with the municipal capital on 26 September. The reconstruction of the village was completed in 1953. 

On 28 August 1994, a monument in memory of the war victims was installed in Maresca, commemorating partisans, civilians killed in the bombings, those executed by German forces or killed by leftover wartime ordnance, and soldiers fallen or missing in action. The monument consists of a stone monolith with a bronze plaque engraved with inscriptions and the names of the victims. The monument is complemented by a sculptural group created by local artist and partisan Germano Pacelli. Additional plaques in the village are dedicated to fallen partisans and victims of the air raids.