“Today people don’t know what it means to experience war. Or, at least, not in Italy. However, Antonino “Nino” Venuto, a 90-year-old from Messina, remembers it well, whose testimony on the bombing of Messina during the Second World War is among the finalists of the international competition “Leave the sign” organized by the InformaGiovani Association. The video was created by the Messina journalist – and niece of the interviewee – Chiara Venuto.
From 29 July to 17 August 1943 the city of the Strait suffered the worst of the final phases of the Battle of Sicily. The Allied bombings destroyed Messina, leaving the buildings apparently standing, but completely emptied: they had been rebuilt in reinforced concrete just a few years earlier, after the tragic earthquake of 1908. This induced the Allies to continue dropping bombs, because the houses did not appear collapse. During the first fifteen days of August, Messina was hit by 6,542 tons of explosives. There were 456 deaths, plus another 49 victims who died in Red Cross hospitals.
The displaced people were also welcomed in anti-aircraft shelters: in one of these, the Galleria Santa Marta, Nino Venuto lived for six months. In his short but intense story there are images that we still see today, but on our screens. “War is always the same story”: this is the message of the video, which can only win the competition if it collects more “likes” than the other competitors on social networks. For those who want to vote for it, here are the links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/X4rMkwdm3ptsJa3E/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6TBjGQvlVL/?igsh=NGk5NWN0bGJmZHps
