Bibbiena

During the nazi-fascist occupation, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Neve became a hospital and a shelter for refugees and evacuated persons. Reinforced by other Dominican families who had fled to the Casentino out of fear of the bombing of Arezzo, this religious environment offered constant support and assistance to the nearby inhabitants. Out on one such duty, the Dominican Father Rosario Mirabene (displaced from Arezzo to Bibbiena together with the Collegio di Arezzo) was walking from Corsalone to the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Sasso. He was talking to the German soldier escorting him, possibly criticising the German army for their cruel way of conducting the war. Probably irritated by this, the soldier opened fire, killing the monk. Mirabene was the second clergyman killed by the Germans in the Casentino. His body was retrieved near the stream Corsalone and buried in the Sanctuary of Santa Maria.