Bibbiena

The Marena estate, owned by the Nati Poltri family, was chosen during the occupation for the headquarters of large numbers of German troops stationed in the Casentino territory. After being occupied by a Hermann Göring squad during the April rounding-up operations, in the summer of 1944 the estate became the fixed headquarters for regular troops under the command of a major. During a round-up in the area of Chitignano and Valenzano, about 10 hostages were taken, including the partisan Aldemaro Ceccantini. A soldier recognised him as the author of a rebel attack, of which he had been a victim but managed to escape. Aldemaro was captured and immediately accused of being a partisan. The group was taken to Marena and locked up in a store-room for a few days. On July 20th Ceccantini, who until then had been treated with dignity by the Germans, was taken to be executed not far from the square in Marena. Two young men were forced to witness his execution as an example. His body was dumped in a field and covered with a little earth. It was only retrieved some days later. The cord his wrists had been bound with before he was shot was preserved out of pity by the owner of the estate. It was later handed over to the partisans and is now to be found at the Istituto Storico della Resistenza in Toscana in Florence.