Thus the local people lived in fear of the blood curdling sound of the approaching bombers. Many decided to abandon their homes and sought to find places of safety on the hillsides above Atina. They trekked their way along steep and rocky mule tracks with just the few meagre possessions and supplies they could manage to carry. Some found shelter in old farmsteads or masserias, others in barns and shepherds’ huts on the slopes of Monte Cicuto, Monte Morrone, Monte Prato. Often many families would live together in one location. During air raids they would take cover in local caves.
In some areas, where there were no existing caverns to shelter in, they dug into the sandy rock to create places of refuge during the terrible bombardments. Other people chose to flee to the surrounding countryside within the valley or to other local towns where they hoped they would find safety.
From the mountains the townsfolk could observe each new wave of bombers releasing their deadly loads over Atina and the palls of black smoke rising from their beloved town. During some raids incendiary bombs were also jettisoned which set many of the buildings ablaze.
During the winter months, as the weather worsened, the refugees had to contend with heavy rain, icy winds and snow storms. They attempted to stave off their hunger with a meager diet consisting of beans, a type of flour made from acorns, and any wild greens and herbs that they could forage.
From the end of December the shelling by the Allies began. The Germans had installed anti-aircraft batteries on the slopes above Atina, close to where many civilians had set up camp. On the night of the 7th January the Allied Artillery heavily pounded this area with shells, causing many more casualties and fatalities. As it became clear that this area was no longer a place of safety the people were forced to move. Many headed for Casalattico and its surrounding hamlets. Hundreds of people gathered here, however a typhus epidemic spread within the community.
Soon the Allied artillery began heavily shelling this area too. The Germans had built a road from Ponte del Corno in Casalattico leading to the German front line via Mortale (Montattico) and Terelle. They had also installed a battery of anti aircraft guns near to Casalattico.
The Germans rounded up the townspeople of Mortale and they were taken to a German prison camp in Cesano, north of Rome. This was also the fate of the townsfolk of San Biago Saracinisco.
The remaining destitute people were forced to keep on the move, constantly traipsing from one area to another, in search of places of refuge in areas further away from the German front. Kindly residents from the towns of Fontechiari and San Donato took in some of the refugees and shared their homes and provisions with them. In the Pianoro districe (Collealto) of Alvito a small settlement formed of displaced people, a small village where everyone tried to be useful to one another.
Thanks to Louise Shapcott