| Bombing of Ferrara | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofWorld War II | |||||
 The ruins of the 16th century church of San Benedetto after an air raid | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 United States United Kingdom |  Italian Social Republic | ||||
Thebombing of Ferrara was a series of attacks by theUnited States Army Air Force and theRoyal Air Force on the Italian city ofFerrara,Emilia-Romagna, during the final two years ofWorld War II. The purpose of these raids was to disable the city'smarshalling yard, but they also resulted in considerablecollateral damage to the city itself, and over a thousand deaths among the population.
First air raid on Ferrara: bombers of the15th Air Force attacked the marshalling yard.[1] A large part of the bombs, however, fell on the city, causing 312 victims among the population.[2]
Raid by the 15th Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard; the objective was hit, but many bombs fell on the city, destroying 140 homes, damaging another 600 and causing 202 dead and 172 wounded among the population.[3][4][5]
Raid by the 15th Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard; both the objective and the industrial districts were hit.[6]
Raid by the 15th U.S. Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard.[7]
Another raid by the 15th Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard.[8]
Another raid on the marshalling yard by the 15th U.S. Air Force.[9]
The 15th U.S. Air Force attacks once again the marshalling yard.[10]
Raid by the 15th U.S. Air Force, targeting the airfield.[11]
Raid by the12th Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard.[12]
Night raid by the RAF: 74 bombers dropped their bombs on the marshalling yard.[13]
78 RAF bombers (two of which were shot down) attacked the marshalling yard.[14]
Another night raid by the RAF (62 bombers) against the marshalling yard.[15]
Raid by the 15th U.S. Air Force, targeting the marshalling yard.[16]
By the end of the war, 40% of all homes in Ferrara had been destroyed or damaged; most of the destruction occurred in the area surrounding the marshalling yard and in the newer districts, Giardino and Arianuova.[17] Thecultural heritage also suffered, with serious damage to thePalazzo dei Diamanti, thePalazzo Prosperi-Sacrati, theCathedral, the churches ofGesù,Santa Maria in Vado,San Paolo andSanto Stefano; theCastello Estense was damaged as well, with the destruction of the northernravelin.[18] Industries also suffered damage; Ferrara's two largesugar factories were almost completely destroyed.[19]
1,071 inhabitants of Ferrara, according to data of the localcivil registry, lost their lives in the air raids.[20][21][22][23][24][25]