Tablet 28th april 1945

This tablet was put up by Cuneo’s Squadra d’Azione Patriottica (SAP – Patriotic Action Squad) – to commemorate some young men who sacrificed their own lives for the liberation of Cuneo, on 28th April 1945.
On that day, the highest number of victims ever was registered in Cuneo, both among the civilians and partisans, because of the German bombing and the presence of people in the streets.
Shortly before noon on 28th April, two representatives of a small German military delegation met Ettore Rosa, a partisan unit Commander, asking him to call a brief truce to allow the 34th German Division to pass through Cuneo, as it was coming from Mondovì after it had reached Liguria. As the partisan commander Ettore Rosa rejected the Nazis’ request, the Germans reacted violently by firing into the city centre with mortars located in the barracks “Cesare Battisti” or in the Platzkommandantur (Commando di Piazza), which was near Corso Garibaldi, in the building of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph (Suore Giuseppine).
In the early afternoon, a mortar shell hit the central avenue, Corso Nizza, where a group of young people from SAP (Patriotic Action Squad) were waiting to take orders from the partisan commander.
The tablet commemorates the following fallen: - Papini Mario, Cuneo SAP member, who died on the spot; - Muzio Ezio, mechanic, 21st Bellino partisan brigade member, who died the day after; - Azzalin Dario, Cuneo SAP member, who was badly injured and died the following day; - Spiccola Marcello, member of the 3rd Divisione Alpi of the Rinnovamento autonomous formations, who suffered injuries to his leg and died on 11th June of the same year; - Racca Francesco, Cuneo SAP member, sustained minor injuries to his foot, but died on 7th June of the same year.