R.A.M. Rifugio Antiaereo della Martana

The Rifugio Antiaereo della Martana is a 450-metre gallery carved into the rock beneath Massa's historic centre. Built in 1942–1943, it sheltered civilians during the Second World War. After German troops used it in 1944, the shelter remained closed for sixty years until its restoration in 2006 made it a place of historical memory.

Why it matters

The shelter records the civilian experience of war in Massa. Miners from Belluno constructed it over about a year between 1942 and 1943. In September 1944, following the evacuation order, German troops used the gallery as a base connected with the Gothic Line. It remained closed after the war and was recovered in 2006 for cultural and historical-educational purposes.

What to notice

The 450-metre rock-cut gallery has three entrances. Openings in its ceiling acted as ventilation shafts. Photographs and recorded interviews with people who sheltered there preserve personal accounts of air raids and life in the city during wartime. The same space served different purposes: first as a civilian refuge, then as a military installation.

Context and history

The Comune di Massa describes the Martana shelter as the largest air-raid refuge built in the city, with capacity for thousands. Miners from Belluno carried out the work between 1942 and 1943. Following the German evacuation order in September 1944, troops installed field kitchens and billeted soldiers in the gallery. After the end of the war, the shelter remained closed for sixty years; municipal restoration in 2006 recovered it for cultural and historical-educational use.