Pratovecchio Stia

Massacre of civilians linked to occupation of territory

In the aftermath of the major rounding-up operations involving Monte Falterona and Vallucciole, German troops, presumably on patrol in the area of Lonnano, occupied the village and threatened the population. The three brothers Lui, Nello and Gino Spighi were taken to the Poggiola where they were shot after being tortured. They may have been accused of possessing a hunting gun.

3 Dead

Spighi Gino di anni 27
Spighi Luigi di anni 39
Spighi Nello di anni 33

Responsible Corps

Commander of the operation: Col. Heydebreck, Commander Panzer Regiment Hermann Göring; Troops: Exploring Unit (Fallschirm-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung “Hermann Göring”) in all likelihood 2nd and/or 4th Company): the same troops were almost certainly responsible for the Monte Falterona rounding-up operations carried out after April 13th 1944.

The Signs

Monument to the Fallen of Lonnano

Informations

Place of placement: Public park

Date of placement: 25/04/1979

Description

The monument is situated in a small park, on a stone-paved area and partly surrounded by a low wall of the same material. It is essentially made up of three prisms with a rectangular base and of different heights, standing on a square marble base. The shortest one bears a slab of grey sandstone on which is inscribed a quotation from the Reverend Martin Luther King (1929-1968), politician and leader of the civil rights movement for African Americans. There are evergreen plants in its cavity. The middle one is covered in marble plaques bearing the dedication of the town to its Fallen. The third prism, also covered in marble plaques, lists on its left-hand side the names of the Fallen, grouped according to the war in question: Italian-Turkish War (1), First World War (14), Ethiopian War (or Spanish Civil War) (1), Second World War (15, both civilians and soldiers). All the inscriptions are in bronze lettering in relief. On top of the monument is a semi-rectangular glass structure.

Personal observations

Note by the Istituto Comprensivo Dovizi Bibbiena. The former municipality of Pratovecchio commissioned the Roman architect Luciano Billi to create this monument in 1979. His skill can be seen in the elegant composition of the structure made up of several marble parallelepipeds, on which are engraved the names of the fallen soldiers in various wars, a dedication from the village of Lonnano, and a quotation from the American pacifist Martin Luther King.