The 14 August 1943 the Badoglio Government unilaterally proclaims that Rome Open City. Already Foreign Minister Raffaele Guariglia had anticipated this announcement on 31 July to Vatican. USA and England will have that communication from the Vatican a month later. The international law of war stipulates that the status of Open City is that a city is demilitarized is strictly defensive offensive. The usefulness of such a move is the fact that we want to avoid dangerous war situations, for the population but also to safeguard the artistic and cultural heritage of a city. While l’ Italy was committed to achieving “opened” all’ Allied occupation, the Germans did not conceived minimante the solution and made their own stiff resistance. This involved the Allied reaction that bombarded Rome 51 times before being released on 4 June 1944.
Hector Parker
