On 14 May 2022, the Casa della Memoria Association at Servigliano invited Mara Piconi to talk about her dissertation at the University of Macerata on the topic “Between History and Literature: the British war diaries in the Fermano-Maceratese area”.

Ms Picconi’s research paints a vivid picture of life in the three principal PoW camps in the Le Marche region of Italy: Servigliano, Sforzacosta and Monte Urano. The PoW diaries she studied illustrate powerfully the unexpected help given to escaped British prisoners on the run by many Italians in the countryside. The diaries paint a vivid picture of what life was like living with the families, and how this courageous generosity affected the servicemen, not just at the time, but for the rest of their lives.

In addition, Steve Sims of the WW2 Escape Lines Memorial Society and Letitia Blake of the Monte San Martino Trust spoke about Freedom Trails and the Trust’s Archive.