Credits: Giuseppe Parlamenti, Anpi Acquasanta
Where are we?
We are at the International Partisan Cemetery in Pozza
Restored after the 2016 earthquake, this is the burial place of 40 British, American, Greek Cypriot, Yugoslav and Italian civilians and partisans.
The International Partisan Cemetery was inaugurated in September 2019 within the Cemetery of Pozza. The remains of 36 partisans and one civilian victim are buried there. The 37 marble slabs bear the names and details of the fallen soldiers. Another plaque is dedicated to Antonio Buonvecchi, a former partisan of the Italia Brigade that operated in Yugoslavia, and the creator and advocate of the International Cemetery.
On 11th March 1944, the districts of Pozza, Pito, Umito, and San Martino were the scene of a civilian massacre carried out by German troops accompanied and led by local fascists. There were 10 victims, the youngest being an eleven-month-old girl. A hard-fought battle took place, with British, Greek Cypriot and Yugoslav soldiers – who had escaped from the Colfiorito and Servigliano prison camps after the Armistice – fighting alongside partisans. 26 died, including a woman who was shot after throwing a hand grenade and seriously wounding a German.
After firstly being thrown in mass grave, their remains were moved to Pozza Cemetery in 1974. Ciro Centini, the mayor of Acquasanta at the time, managed to keep the remains of the victims in Italy upon the request of the comune’s residents, even though both the British and Yugoslav governments demanded their repatriation.
Facility or museum: yes
Geographic location: Pozza (AP), Marche
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