Frascati, 8 September 1943: the air raid

For Italy, 8 September 1943 is the day of the armistice. For Frascati it is also the day half the town was destroyed, a few hours before news of the surrender came over the radio.

Why Frascati?

In 1943 Frascati hosted the German Southern Command, led by Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, based in villas and palaces around the town; according to the historian Sergio Lepri, Kesselring was at Villa Falconieri. There was also an Italian headquarters in the area. For the Allies, who were about to land at Salerno, hitting the enemy command was a major military target.

What happened

At about 12.10 on 8 September around 130 B-17 bombers of the American air force arrived over Frascati, in four groups. According to an American document quoted by the sources, the mission order spoke openly of destroying the town.

• The town: about half of the buildings were destroyed, along with monuments and villas.
• The victims: nearly five hundred civilians died. The sources give different figures, 485 in some, about 500 in others; around 200 German soldiers were also killed.
• The headquarters: Kesselring’s villa was not badly hit. A few days later the command moved to the bunker under Mount Soratte.

That evening, at 19.45, news of the armistice reached Frascati.

What was lost

• The cathedral of San Pietro: the facade survived, but the presbytery was badly damaged and the organ destroyed. Rebuilding was completed in 1949.
• Villa Torlonia: the palace was destroyed; the park, with its Water Theatre, is now a public garden.
• Other Tusculan Villas lost their main buildings, such as Villa Sciarra and, in Monte Porzio, Villa Vecchia.

The months after

The raid of 8 September was not the last: Frascati and the Castelli stayed on the line of fighting until the spring of 1944, and many people lived as evacuees. The Salesians of Frascati organised aid for the population, and in Monte Porzio Villa Parisi took in people who had lost their homes. The Americans entered the town on 4 June 1944, the same day Rome was liberated.

In short

• When: 8 September 1943, at 12.10.
• Who: about 130 American B-17s.
• Why: Kesselring’s German headquarters was in Frascati.
• Damage: about half of the buildings; nearly 500 civilian deaths.
• Liberation: 4 June 1944.
• For the wider story: the history of Frascati.