The former air raid shelter: a place of shelter and fear
In June 1941, an official telegram was sent out, indicating the immediate need for shelters against aerial bombardment. Various public and private spaces were converted into air raid shelters. By September 1943, in Cesena there were shelters everywhere: on the ground floor of the municipality, in the old aqueduct, in the cellars of a number of patrician villas and in churches. In Italy, the air raid shelters were created above all in the cellars of town houses and used for shelter. In order to be recognizable to the population, they were indicated on the outside by an ‘R’.
In the period between 14 June 1940 and 23 September 1944, the air raid siren had sounded 962 times, and the town was bombed on 76 occasions within seven months (between 13 May and 11 December 1944). Despite the security measures, it is calculated that there have been around 700 dead and 1800 wounded during these raids.
Today, the former air shelter is still fairly well conserved. It is accessible only occasionally for guided tours or temporary exhibitions during the commemorations of the Resistance.