New building work in Piazza Garibaldi

As we already reported in December last year, work has started started on clearing a house next to the Palazzo Balduini in Piazza Garibaldi that has been sitting in ruins since 1944. The house was destroyed by artillery shells on Boxing Day 1944. Accounts differ as to who was responsible for the shelling .. some maintain it was the Americans who were shelling Sommocolonia in an attempt to stop the forward edge of a blitzkreig offensive that was to throw elements of six Axis divisions at U.S. Army detachments in the Serchio Valley.... others maintain that it was the German artillery on the hills behind Barga shelling the town. Who ever was responsible, the house was completely destroyed and the families living there (and who were fortunately at the time sheltering elsewhere) never returned to their shattered house.

The diggers have been in operation most of the winter and excavated tons of earth and rubble and now the area is ready for the first new concrete foundations to be laid.

The project should be completed in the spring and a new split level piazza and grassed area should be made ready to replace the bomb site.