Italian Government
83rd Anniversary of the Defense of Rome
What remains when all points of reference are lost?
Rome, September 8, 1943.
The Armistice, signed in Cassibile on September 3, is announced to the Italian people.
The lack of clear and coordinated orders exacerbates the confusion and disarray within the chain of command. For thousands of men in uniform, an immediate question arises: What should we do?
German forces implement the “Achse” plan and advance toward the capital’s access points and strategic locations.
Between September 8 and 10, fighting took place at the Magliana Bridge, the Montagnola, and Via Ostiense, culminating in the clashes at Porta San Paolo.
Defending Rome were the Grenadiers of Sardinia, the Lancers of Montebello, units of the “Sassari” Division, the Carabinieri, and men from other units. Numerous citizens also joined them in the fight.
This same decision also drew the Armed Forces into action in other territories. In Kefalonia and Corfu, the men of the “Acqui” Division faced off against German forces, paying for that decision with one of the most painful chapters in our history.
Approximately 650,000 Italian soldiers, captured in Italy and in overseas territories, were transferred to camps controlled by Germany and classified as Italian Military Internees. Pressured to join the German forces and, later, the Italian Social Republic, the vast majority refused. For many, that “no” meant hunger, forced labor, and suffering. For thousands, it meant death. It was a Resistance without weapons.
After the fighting, Rome entered nearly nine months of German occupation, marked by violence, roundups, and deportations, but also by resistance and solidarity. This period would end with the entry of Allied forces into the capital in June 1944.
“Porta San Paolo offers us one of the most powerful images of those days in September 1943. Numerous citizens joined the soldiers. Workers, students, teachers, shopkeepers—men and women—left their daily lives behind and decided to take part in the city’s defense. Some took up arms and fought; others tended to the wounded, brought water, provided first aid, and offered shelter. Despite their different backgrounds, ideas, and experiences, soldiers and civilians stood side by side, united by the awareness that there was something greater to defend: the dignity of the country and the hope of building a different Italy. The Allied armies and an Italy made up of soldiers, partisans, and citizens—who, in different places and in different ways, chose not to stand idly by—played a decisive role in the country’s liberation. Eighty-three years later, the “spirit of Porta San Paolo” remains a valuable point of reference for Italy: an example of responsibility, courage, and unity to which we can look as we face the challenges of the present together.” So said Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.
