Monumento Martiri di Padulivo

In the heart of Mugello, World War II left deep wounds, one of which remains etched in the memory of the community with the name of the Padulivo massacre. It was July 10, 1944, and the war was becoming increasingly brutal. At the Padulivo farm, a large farmhouse that at that time housed over one hundred and fifty people, including many evacuees from Vicchio, a unit of German SS troops, about sixty men, arrived. Officially there to requisition livestock, their suspicions were focused on Aldo Galardi, the farm owner, believed to be close to the partisans operating in the surrounding mountains. During the search, the Germans noticed that a horse had recently been taken away. They demanded its return, threatening to burn down the farm. A woman, in an attempt to prevent the worst, offered to retrieve it. However, her gesture allowed the partisans of Monte Giovi to be warned of the presence and size of the Nazi contingent. Shortly after, along the road, the partisans set up an ambush: one German soldier was killed, another wounded. The German reaction was immediate and ruthless. Upon returning to the farm, the SS troops set the entire complex on fire, capturing all they found. Over a hundred people, men, women, and children, were forced to march towards Vicchio. When they reached the bridge where the ambush had taken place, the Nazis decided to seek revenge: ten men and the woman who had retrieved the horse were shot on the spot. One of them survived for a while, but the injuries sustained never allowed him to recover. The remaining prisoners were taken to Vicchio, where they spent the night awaiting interrogation. The next morning, they were all released, except for four men and three women. The men were forced to participate in the raid for more livestock, then taken back to the ambush site and mercilessly shot. Today, at Padulivo, a plaque engraved in stone commemorates the names of those fifteen innocent people slaughtered in retaliation: BASTIANELLI PIETRO, CALZOLAI VALERIANO, FIBBI ATTILIO, GABELLINI ANTONIO, GALARDI ALDO, GIUDICI MARIA, GOTTARDI RENZO, LANDI ANNIBALE, MENICUCCI AURELIO, PARIGI GIOVACCHINO, POGGIALI RENATO, SANTONI NELLO, ZAGLI ETTORE, ZAGLI NELLO, BANCHI MARIO. On the fiftieth anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation, the Municipality of Vicchio wanted to honor their memory with a warning engraved next to the names: "History does not repeat itself, except in the minds of those who do not know it." — Gibran Khalil Gibran Today, the Monument to the Martyrs of Padulivo is more than just a historical testimony: it is a place of memory, reflection, a symbol of the sacrifice of those who lost their lives to Nazi-Fascist fury. Every year, the community gathers to remember, to pass on to the new generations the value of freedom, resistance, and human dignity.

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