1. “Museum” of Heavy Stories and Plaque Dedicated to the Liberation
Cavicchioni Square

The smallest “museum” in the world is located in the main square of Albinea, in front of the Town Hall, and is managed by Pro Loco Albinea and ANPI Albinea. It collects memorabilia dating back to the time of the Unification of Italy. Most of the objects are connected to events related to the First and Second World Wars, from the experiences of soldiers from Albinea in the Great War, to the story of Emilio Lodesani, the first aviator from Albinea who died during World War I, to the extraordinary wartime and post-war events of Scottish, English, Irish, Italian, Russian, and Spanish heroes involved in “Operation Tombola” (the assault on the German headquarters in Botteghe di Albinea in March 1945), to the sacrifice of the five Germans who said “no” to Hitler eight months earlier in the same place, to the stories of American aircraft and aviators shot down over our hills between 1944 and 1945.

On a side wall of the building there is a plaque commemorating the arrival of the partisans and the Allies, including the Brazilian contingent, in Cavicchioni Square in Albinea on April 24. It depicts Brazilian soldiers of the Allied army arriving in the square at Fola in a jeep together with trucks carrying partisans of the 26th Garibaldi Brigade.

2. “Floor Vector of Memory” by Liberation Route Europe
Cavicchioni Square

On a side wall of the “Museum of Heavy Stories” building there is the Floor Vector, a steel disc that is part of a European memory signage system, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind for the Liberation Route Europe Foundation to mark places connected to the Gothic Line and the gradual advance of the Allied forces.

“Liberation Route Europe” is a cultural itinerary linking people, places, and events across the main regions along the route followed by the Allied Forces between 1943 and 1945, and aims to commemorate the liberation from Nazi-fascist occupation and reflect on the long-term consequences of the war. The history of the Liberation of Albinea is included, thanks to the presence of the Vector, within this international memory route.

The “Vectors of Memory” were conceived with the idea of creating a transnational monument of freedom, harmony, and peace; a signage system that fully reflects Libeskind’s architectural approach. As he himself stated: “These markers are a topography of memory. They function as a point in space and time and connect the history of liberation.”

3. Villa Rossi and the Plaque in Memory of the British Paratroopers and Villa Calvi
Via Chiesa, Botteghe

These are the places where the most important events in Albinea during the Second World War occurred: the killing of the five rebellious German soldiers in August 1944 and the assault by British SAS troops and partisans on the headquarters of the German 51st Alpine Corps.

The first event refers to an act of rebellion carried out by five German soldiers stationed in Albinea (Hans Schmidt, Erwin Bucher, Erwin Schlunder, Karl Heinz Schreyer, and Martin Koch), which ended with their execution on August 26–27, 1944. Communications officer Schmidt came from the Berlin district of Treptow-Köpenick, and this connection forms the basis of the twinning between Albinea and the German district since 1997.

The second event, known as “Operation Tombola,” was a commando operation carried out on March 27, 1945, by a group of British paratroopers from the 2nd SAS together with Italian and Russian partisans against the German command located in Villa Rossi and Villa Calvi. At Villa Rossi, next to the entrance door, there is a grey marble plaque bearing the names of the fallen engraved in relief. At the top it features a parachute, while at the bottom it displays the motto of the Allied battalion to which the British soldiers who died in the night attack belonged. The monument was inaugurated on March 27, 1946. It commemorates the three British paratroopers killed by the Germans during the 1945 attack: Lieutenant James Arthur Riccomini, Sergeant Sidney Guscott, and Corporal Stanley Bolden.

4. Partisan Trail of Operation Tombola
Vendina–Botteghe route

A walk retracing the paths that, on the night between March 26 and 27, 1945, led 110 men to attack the German headquarters at Villa Rossi and Villa Calvi. At the time, these forest roads were used by British SAS units and partisan formations from Reggio Emilia belonging to the Garibaldi Brigades, “Gufo Nero,” and the Russian Battalion. Operation Tombola was the name of the mission that destroyed the German command center in Botteghe, interrupting communications between Berlin and the Gothic Line.

5. Tulip Path and Stele in Memory of Richard Cooley
Via Poiano

A pedestrian and cycling route running along Via Poiano. Nearby, an American aircraft crashed during the Second World War: a P-38 on May 12, 1944. The crash killed the 24-year-old American pilot Richard Arthur Cooley.

After the war, Richard’s mother visited the crash site and, in order not to forget him, planted tulips there. From this act of compassion and remembrance, and from an idea by Reggio Emilia researcher and journalist Matteo Incerti—who tragically passed away before seeing his project realized—the “Tulip Walk” was created on November 30, 2022, and dedicated to his memory.

It is a path lined with colorful tulips, along which a walk is organized every year to commemorate both Matteo and the American pilot who lost his life at the foot of the valley.

6. Berlin Wall
Via Caduti per la Libertà

In front of the primary schools of Albinea, since 1999, a segment of the Berlin Wall has been installed, donated to the municipality of Albinea by the twinned Berlin district of Treptow-Köpenick as a symbol of friendship and as a warning against war and in favor of peace among peoples.

The inscriptions next to the wall read:
“The Administration and the community of Albinea in memory of the fall of the Berlin Wall and in the hope of a new path of peace and cooperation among peoples.”

“The District of Treptow-Köpenick (Berlin) presents to its twin town of Albinea a piece of the historic wall that so inhumanly divided the city of Berlin from August 13, 1961, separating families and friends and becoming a deadly trap for many who attempted to flee from East to West, until on November 9, 1989, it began to crumble under internal pressure and finally fell. May this piece honor the victims who lost their lives at the wall or in the death strip, and all those imprisoned for their desire for freedom. May it stand as support for all those committed to humanity and tolerance.”

A key role in obtaining the wall fragment was played by Mario Crotti, a historian and scholar of local history, who worked alongside the then mayor Vilmo Delrio to facilitate its transfer and installation. Crotti himself traveled to Berlin by truck to bring the structure back to Albinea.

7. Memorial Stone for Mario Simonazzi “Azor”
Via Caduti per la Libertà

The monument, dedicated to the partisan Mario Simonazzi, whose nom de guerre was “Azor”—deputy commander of the 76th SAP Brigade from February 1945—was originally located in Montericco, near the primary school. It was later moved to Fola in front of the Renzo Pezzani school.

It is a small column made of gypsum stone and features a raised inscription and a ceramic photo of the fallen. It was commissioned by a group of Azor’s friends and inaugurated in 1946.

8. “Never Again” Monument
Piazza Caduti Alleati, Botteghe

This is a stone work created by Adriano Corradini and inaugurated in 1995. It was described by Senator P. E. Taviani as “the most beautiful monument to Peace.”

It commemorates the five German soldiers—Hans Schmidt, Erwin Bucher, Erwin Schlunder, Karl Heinz Schreyer, and Martin Koch—who were executed by their comrades on the night of August 26, 1944, near Villa Rossi and Calvi, for rebelling against Nazism and Fascism. They had attempted to pass information to the partisans but were discovered and killed by their fellow soldiers.

Made of white marble from Cassino, the stele has a partially polished surface. The lower part depicts the outline of the village, while the upper part shows a flight of doves alongside directional arrows. Later, an oval bronze bas-relief was added, depicting the head of a German soldier, the gate of Villa Rossi, and an armed partisan. The inscription is written in English, German, and Russian.

9. Monument to the Fallen of All Wars
Cavicchioni Square

This monument consists of a series of bronze panels designed by middle school students from Albinea and attached to the obelisk located in the center of Cavicchioni Square in Fola.

Made of concrete and hexagonal in shape, the monument features on its central side a grey marble plaque with a raised inscription, while on the orange-plastered sides there are four bronze bas-reliefs depicting allegorical figures of women, children, and animals, along with other symbols referring to brotherhood and peace among peoples.

The work was commissioned by the Municipality of Albinea and inaugurated on March 26, 1988. It bears the inscription:
“ALBINEA TO ITS FALLEN / For a more just and united world without war and violence.”

10. Base of the Monument to the Fallen of the First World War
Frassini Park “M. Hack”

This is a granite base engraved with the words “Albinea to its fallen 1915–1918,” on top of which there once stood a valuable bronze statue depicting an infantryman (unknown soldier), created by the sculptor E. Prampolini. The statue was requisitioned in 1941 and melted down for its bronze. The base is currently located in the garden south of the “P. Neruda” Library.

11. Monument to the Constitution
Frassini Park “M. Hack”

In Frassini Park there is a monument dedicated to the Italian Constitution, created by sculptors Bertani and Romani based on a project by Jehona Vatovci (2009) and a design by students from the Albinea middle school.

It consists of a central corten steel element, two marble slabs embedded in the ground, and a lectern with a marble top engraved with the words “founded on work…” from Article 1 and “…repudiates war” from Article 11 of the Constitution.

The two metal plates leave a central space where a cogwheel is depicted, also present in the emblem of the Italian Republic. This symbol represents work as the foundation of the Republic, as stated in Article 1, and thus stands for labor and progress.

12. Plaques of the Fallen from Albinea in the First World War
Municipal Building, Cavicchioni Square

These consist of three white marble plaques bearing the names of people from Albinea who died during the Great War due to wounds or illness. There is also a fourth plaque commemorating the partisans from Albinea who died in the struggle against Nazism and Fascism. They are located in the atrium of the Town Hall.

13. Plaque of the Fallen from Borzano in the First World War
Church of S. Maria della Lodola, Borzano

This is a large marble plaque bearing the names of those from Borzano who died during the Great War. It also includes photographs of the fallen and is mounted on the southern wall of the church.

14. Plaque in the Borzano Cemetery
Via L. Orsi, Borzano

A grey marble plaque, commissioned by ANPI Albinea, commemorates the partisans from Borzano who died fighting against Nazism and Fascism.

15. Cemetery of the Parish Church of Albinea
Via Pareto 30

Here lies the grave of Isaia Cassinadri, a young man from Albinea killed by German troops during the Second World War.

On the morning of March 27, 1945, the day after the partisan and Allied attack known as Operation Tombola, Isaia was killed by German rifle fire during a sweep of the Vendina area in search of those responsible for the attack on Villa Rossi and Villa Calvi.

It was 10 a.m., and the 26-year-old, who had evaded conscription, was working in the fields with his father. At the sight of German soldiers, he attempted to flee but was shot and killed.

16. Roots of Friendship Park
Via Grandi

The park, inaugurated in March 2017 in the presence of a delegation from the Berlin district of Treptow-Köpenick (twinned with the Municipality of Albinea), commemorates the 110 men who took part in Operation Tombola on the night of March 26–27, 1945, and the five German soldiers who were executed between August 26 and 27, 1944, after being discovered passing information to the partisans.

17. Garibaldi Fountain
Via Garibaldi, near number 7

The Garibaldi Fountain is a formerly public fountain now located on private property. On it there is a plaque reading:
“To the General of the People Giuseppe Garibaldi, source of freedom and emancipation. Albinea, May … 1862.”

The missing date indicates that the monument had been prepared by a committee of admirers in anticipation of an official inauguration in the presence of Garibaldi (according to tradition), which never actually took place.

This is the first inscription dedicated to the hero created in the province and the only one made while the general was still alive.

(Traduzione a cura di Matteo Bigi)