Officina Mazzola

Mazzola Workshop was established in the 1930s by blacksmith Giuseppe Mazzola (Cacamazzë). Numerous wrought iron works were made in the workshop, such as the twisted grilles of the Sipari-Massa Palace. Among Giuseppe Mazzola's collaborators was Vincenzo Piselli, who was arrested by the Germans and deported to Dachau for his help given to interned Jews and former Allied prisoners hiding in the mountains. In 1943 the workshop was requisitioned by the Germans because San Donato became the rear of the Cassino front. After the war it was moved to Via Roma, to the premises of the current pharmacy. In the space where the workshop used to be, the Mazzola family decided to open an oil mill, thus diversifying the family business.

The memory of Gerardo Mazzola

Gerardo, brother of Giuseppe Mazzola, fought with the Italian army in the Russian campaign. Back in San Donato he lived through the months of the war and German occupation in the village. He writes in his diary, "After a few days spent hiding on the mountain, I returned home, taking advantage of the fact that the Germans had occupied our workshop to allow their farriers to make use of our equipment for shoeing mules. By staying among them, I automatically find myself protected. Attached to the German farriers were Russian prisoners, used as labor men. I, who know a modicum of the Russian language, work as an interpreter. After getting to know me, those prisoner soldiers come home in the evening to seek our company, finding in us friendliness and affability."

The German retreat

On May 28 and 29 the municipal authorities of San Donato were left without any indication of what to do because the Germans had left the country and the Allies remained stationed in the hamlet of Gallinaro. The episode is confirmed in Gerardo Mazzola's diary: "A bad moment we passed when the Germans retreated toward Abruzzo. In leaving they undermined and blew up all the bridges along the road leading to Forca d'Acero. Also, for a few days, we remained "no man's land." The Allied troops stopped at the Gallinaro crossroads, while the Germanic troops flattened themselves on the Forca d'Acero area, sending down mortar shells. Not a very comfortable situation because, going around the streets, one was in danger of being taken for an adversary by either side."

The arrival of the allies

In Carlo Coletti Square, the Allied soldiers found Podesta Gaetano Marini with numerous fellow citizens, who were happy to party with the Allied soldiers. They were also joined by many young boys, hoping to get some food. Gerardo Mazzola and his brother-in-law Nunziato Decina, son of Brigida Mancini, brought some Russians that the Sandonatesi had hidden and helped, before and during the retreat. In the excitement of the moment, Gerardo translated the words of the former prisoners from Russian, and Nunziato retranslated them into English so the Allied soldiers could understand them. Eventually, the Russians were taken over by the Allies and managed to save themselves.