Across the street from our house in Umbertide is a piazza. It is an excellent place to walk to see people enjoy a coffee or a glass of wine. Recently I discovered the area is actually made up of two piazzas. The second one looks like a parking lot but upon inspection, this seemingly common area is actually much more.
On April 25, 1944, allied bombers aiming for a bridge over the Tiber River, a short distance away, missed and dropped two bombs into the small neighborhood of Borgo San Giovanni, killing seventy people and displacing hundreds of others. The homes were never rebuilt.
Today, the area has been renamed Pizza April 25th. Those who died are honored with a permanent plaque of their names. Among the stones of the parking lot are red bricks, which signify the places where buildings once set. A number inside the brick identifies the particular house.
wonder at the idea of never rebuilding and replacing a neighborhood with a parking lot. I am sure what was done was best. Perhaps it is the way to remember.
