Why would you want to walk along a pretty country road that will make you cry? The story of this rural village in Northern Tuscany is so sad, that even though we've known about it for a long time, we just kept avoiding it. This spring, in anticipation of the 70th anniversary, we finally visited, and we are glad we did, even though it was more emotional than we had imagined. This is a story that should be remembered even though it's difficult, a story that our common humanity should not let us forget.
San Terenzo Monti (including the hamlets of Valla and Bardine) is a tiny village with a pretty approach and one of the oldest churches in Lunigiana. It is a part of the municipality of Fivizzano and located in the hills of the valley of the Aullela, just a few miles from Aulla and Fosdinovo (see Getting There below). Like so many towns hereabouts, it has lost its economic and cultural vitality, but it still seems like a pleasant place to live. It seems an unlikely place for terror and violent death. Still, this community suffered a horrible atrocity on August 19, 1944, and they have commemorated it in a heartfelt way. The story of the cold blooded murder of a total of 159 people is revealed slowly and respectfully to you as you walk through the town and along the country road to the site of the largest massacre.
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