The partisans

Rocca Santa Maria, and in particular Bosco Martese, have become famous as the symbolic place of partisan resistance in the Second World War. In September 1943, Captain Ettore Bianco, commander of the Company of Carabinieri of Teramo, the Captain of Complement Carlo Canger and numerous non-commissioned officers and carabinieri created the Partisan formation “Bosco Martese”, in a very short time hundreds of young people joined them bringing food, weapons and ammunition and the formation came to count about 1,600 men. They managed to carry out various actions of disturbance and assault on the Germans who, having localized their position, for 3 consecutive days (25, 26 and 27 September), attacked the partisan formation with a battalion and armored vehicles, but the partisans fought bravely and the German troops withdrew.

In Sella Ciarelli, district in the municipality of Rocca Santa Maria, on 26 September 1943, after the bloody clashes that took place at “Bosco Martese” between the partisans and the German troops, three carabinieri from the local station of Pascellata, in the nearby municipality of Valle Castellena and an Alpino, on agricultural license, were shot by the Germans.

Today, in the same district, there is a monument to remember them.