The WW2 bombing - An Historic account

What destroyed Villa Fogazzaro during the Second World War?

The photograph depicted here, taken on the 19th of May 1944, is a very rare document of the ruins of the villa seen from the gardens of our neighbours, Villa Valmarana. (Above, behind the triangular tympanum surrounding the classical statue is now our swimming pool and yes you can just see the branches of the iconic pine tree in the top left corner of the photo)

On December 28, 1943, Antonio Fogazzaro's Vicenza residence, that was on the site of the current Villa San Bastiano Fogazzaro, was bombed for the first time; subsequently, on May 14 1944 it was bombed again.

The assigned target was not Villa Fogazzaro, nor the residential area around via San Bastiano. It was instead Vicenza's railway installations — specifically the railway station/marshalling yard and repair facilities. Contemporary local histories similarly identify the railway line, station and railway arsenal as the objectives.

This is important because "San Bastiano" lay close enough to the railway-target area for scattered bombs to reach it. The documented bomb impacts extended through Borgo Berga, Riviera Berica, Stradella dei Nani, "Valletta del Silenzio", Borgo Casale and the railway-workers' district. Villa Fogazzaro was therefore almost certainly collateral damage from the attack on the railway complex, rather than an intended target.

The force initially consisted of 18 B-24s of the 376th Bomb Group, but one turned back with mechanical trouble, leaving 17 aircraft to continue to Vicenza.

The lead aircraft was flown by Capt. Ralph "Red" Thompson, commander of the 515th Squadron, who later described the target specifically as the "railroad repair facility at Vicenza".

But something went badly wrong on the way to Vicenza!

The mission became one of the 376th Bomb Group's worst disasters.

Cloud and haze delayed the formation. The B-24s missed their rendezvous with their fighter escort and continued toward Vicenza without effective fighter protection. At about 7,000 metres (23,000 ft), as they approached the target, they were attacked by large numbers of German fighters, principally Messerschmitt Bf 109s belonging to Jagdgeschwader 53, 4 and 51.

The U.S. Army's account of the battle says more than 70 Axis fighters engaged the formation.

The result was catastrophic: 10 of the 17 B-24s were shot down. All six aircraft of the 512th Squadron were lost, together with two aircraft each from the 514th and 515th Squadrons. Only seven bombers returned to San Pancrazio Salentino, in Puglia, all damaged to some degree.

The losses were so severe that the 376th Bomb Group did not resume combat operations until 4th February 1944.

And yet the surviving aircraft bombed Vicenza and consequently Antonio Fogazzaro's home, with the immense amount of historical artefacts and, most of all, the huge library containing some extremely valuable first editions of important literary books. The grand piano that was placed in the main living room was found at the bottom of the "Valletta del Silenzio"in front of the villa!

Despite being mauled by German fighters, the surviving B-24s reached the target area and released their bombs.

The bombing was evidently dispersed over a substantial part of southeastern Vicenza. Italian historical research records bombs falling on Borgo Berga, Viale Riviera Berica, Stradella dei Nani, via San Bastiano, the "Valletta del Silenzio", Borgo Casale and the railway-workers' district. The raid killed 41 people and wounded many more. Luckily my family: mother, grandmother, uncles and all staff were evacuated earlier to nearby Montegalda, another Fogazzaro property.

That geographical pattern is particularly significant for Villa Fogazzaro. The villa was at San Bastiano, in the area south-east of central Vicenza toward the Berici hills. In other words, it lay in the same general sector in which bombs missing or overshooting the railway installations were falling.

The villa was hit again on 14 May 1944, after which the surviving ruins were eventually demolished.

The best-supported conclusion is that Villa Fogazzaro was destroyed by bombs dropped by B-24s of the 376th Bombardment Group during their attack on Vicenza's railway facilities, rather than being deliberately attacked.

The loss for the family was immense, but thankfully no life was lost in that location; the house could have been a shrine to Fogazzaro himself, his huge collection of important, valuable first edition books, artifacts, furniture, family portraits, works of art.

My mother recollects the visits to the ruins after the war ended, sifting through the charred remains of what was once a place of family life, culture, history for anything salvageable: when she married, they were donated the ruins of the property as a wedding present by her family and proceeded to clear the site and build the present home.

Villa San Bastiano Fogazzaro is testament to the heritage of such an important family.

A worthwhile visit if you're near Milano is Villa Fogazzaro Roi in Oria, Valsolda on the lake of Lugano, where my uncle Giuseppe Roi has meticulously preserved and curated Fogazzaro's beloved summer residence, where he wrote "Piccolo Mondo Antico". He donated it to the F.A.I. - Fondo Ambiente Italiano after his death.