The bombing of Padua was a series of attacks by the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

and the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

on the Italian city of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. These raids were aimed at disabling Padua's marshalling yard, but also resulted in heavy damage to the city and civilian casualties.

Chronology of main air raids

16 December 1943

First air raid on Padua. In two attacks, the first one at ten in the morning and the second one at 1:00 P.M., seventy-two bombers of the

15th Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...

attacked the marshalling yard, but many of the 200 tons of bombs dropped in these attacks fell on the city, and especially on the

Arcella ''Arcella'' is a genus of testate amoebae in the order Arcellinida, usually found in freshwaters and mosses, and rarely in soils. A key characteristic of ''Arcella'' is the circular test with a hole on its center from where finger-like pseudopod ...

district (hit by over 400 bombs); the Temple of Peace and the churches of San Carlo, Dimesse and Santissima Trinità suffered damage, as did the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and the Da Monte

Sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

. A

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

that had just arrived from

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

was hit by several bombs, causing dozens of victims. Another raid was carried out during the following night, hitting an

air raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...

near Porta Trento and causing further deaths. Altogether, these three raids caused three hundred victims, two-thirds of whom in the Arcella district.Biografia di una bomba
/ref>

30 December 1943

Second raid by seventy bombers of the 15th Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard. Part of the bombs fell on the city, hitting again the Arcella district, the Temple of Peace (where the remains of the fallen in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

were scattered all over the church), the University, the main hospital and the old Paolotti jail. About three hundred people were killed.Cave de Buseto
/ref>

7 February 1944

Night raid by 45 bombers of the Royal Air Force, which dropped 72 tons of bombs, targeting the marshalling yard; the bombs fell all over the city and caused about three hundred civilian deaths, two-thirds of which in an air raid shelter below the Impossibile Tower of the city walls, struck by a bomb.Bombardate l’Italia: 1944
/ref>

11 March 1944

Raid by 111 Boeing B-17 bombers of the 15th Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard; over three hundred tons of bombs were dropped. The city was hit as well; among other buildings, the Church of the Eremitani was badly damaged, resulting in the near-total destruction of the

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es of the

Ovetari Chapel The Ovetari Chapel (Italian: ''Cappella Ovetari'') is a chapel in the right arm of the Church of the Eremitani in Padua. It is renowned for a Renaissance fresco cycle by Andrea Mantegna and others, painted from 1448 to 1457. The cycle was destroyed ...

, one of the heaviest losses caused by the war to Italy’s cultural heritage. The church of San Benedetto Vecchio was partially destroyed; the military barracks of the Riviera Paleocapa were hit, with severe casualties among the military personnel quartered there, and damage was suffered by the Impero Cinema, the African Missions Institute, the hospital and the "La Salutare" nursing home. The Arcella district suffered once again heavy damage. Fighter planes of the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana and the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

shot down two bombers and seriously damaged another seven, while suffering the loss of four aircraft.

22 March 1944

Night raid by 82 bombers of the Royal Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard; the “Garden City” district was particularly hit hard. Among the badly damaged buildings were the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, the Monumental Cemetery, the church of San Giuseppe, the "Villa Frida" nursing home, the psychiatric hospital, the Belzoni Institute and the aqueduct; the Arcella district was by then almost completely razed (out of 8,500 inhabitants, only about fifty were still living there, the rest having fled).

23 March 1944

Night raid by 49 RAF bombers, once again targeting the marshalling yard. Bombs hit the Loggia del Consiglio, Palazzo della Ragione, Palazzo Liviano, Palazzo delle Debite, the church of the Cappuccini, the Scuola del Carmine (where several 15th century

es were lost), Piazza Petrarca, the Garden City, the Seminary, the Basilica of Saint Anthony.

20 April 1944

Raid by the 15th Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard. Many bombs fell on the city, especially the Terranegra district, causing 180 victims among the population (many of whom in a tavern where many had gathered after the air raid alarm, and on the banks of the Roncajette canal, where many inhabitants had sought shelter).

14 May 1944

Raid on the marshalling yard by a hundred B-17 bombers of the 15th Air Force, during the morning; about 500 bombs were dropped. The Church of the Cappuccini was almost completely destroyed; bombs also hit the school of the Voltbarozzo district, killing ten people, and the institute run by the nuns of

Saint Francis of Sales Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...

1 September 1944

Air raid on the suburbs, Ponte di Brenta and Pontevigodarzere, targeting the road and railway

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s; a dozen homes were destroyed and an air raid was hit as well, killing many of its occupants.

22 February 1945

Night raid by 69 RAF bombers, targeting the marshalling yard.Bombardate l’Italia: 1945
/ref> The bomb hit the Bassanello and Arcella districts, and the area around Piazza Mazzini.

24 February 1945

Raid by the 15th Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard.

2 March 1945

Raid by the 15th Air Force, again targeting the marshalling yard.

12 March 1945

Night raid by sixty-nine bombers of the Royal Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard. Bombs hit Porta San Giovanni, the Public Gardens, the church of San Benedetto, the Temple of Peace, the Loggetta del Salone and many residential buildings. Smaller-scale raids continued until 23 April 1945.

Damage and casualties

The raids caused heavy damage to the city; 950 homes were completely destroyed, a further 1,400 were damaged. In the Arcella district, which suffered the heaviest damage, only 4% of all buildings survived; other badly damaged districts included Ponte di Brenta, Pontevigodarzere and Campo di Marte. Cultural heritage suffered heavy damage; among historical buildings that suffered serious damage were the

, the

Baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

, the Basilica of Saint Anthony, the churches of the Eremitani, the Dimesse, San Benedetto Vecchio and the Cappuccini, Palazzo delle Debite, Palazzo della Ragione and Palazzo Liviano, the Loggia del Consiglio and the Scuola del Carmine. The greatest loss was that of Andrea Mantegna’s frescoes in the church of the Eremitani, considered by the Treccani Encyclopedia as "''the greatest loss caused by the war in the field of

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts ...

s''". Losses among the civilian population amounted to two thousands dead; the remains of 989 of them are now buried in the Temple of Peace, along with the fallen of World War I. The Arcella district alone suffered 400 deaths and 500 wounded.16 dicembre 1943: 75 anni fa il bombardamento che sconquassò l'Arcella e i sogni degli arcellani
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bombing Of Padua In World War Ii 1944 in Italy 1945 in Italy History of Padua