Remembering 5 June in Soriano nel Cimino

This is an important and tragic day in the history of our town and the region. On this date in 1944, Allied bombers attacked the area, and a US bomber dropped its load on Soriano. These were ostensibly efforts to hit strategic railways and other military targets, but instead they killed 188 civilians in Soriano and more in the nearby towns.

Here are some photos from then and now - we tried to get angles in our photos today that match those that show the immediate aftermath of the bombing.

The homes and other buildings on the hillside below the castle bore a great deal of the devastation; today that street is named Via V Giugno, in everlasting remembrance.

We didn’t learn about the bombing until after we bought our home, and I remember being anxious because I worried how people might feel about Americans after experiencing such grief and devastation from American bombs. Many people from our town, including my neighbor who built our home, were alive at the time of this tragedy.

Incredibly, we have sensed no resentment.