Tuesday, August 18, 2026, marks the 80th anniversary of the Vergarolla massacre, which occurred on the beach in Polesano on Sunday, August 18, 1946, while the beach was packed with families and participants in the Coppa Scarioni races, the Istrian leg of which had been organized by the Pietas Julia nautical club, with a great patriotic tradition.
It was the first massacre in the history of the Italian Republic, as well as the one with the highest number of victims: 64 were identified (a third of them children), but nearly 50 more bodies were unidentified, so badly damaged had they been by the explosion of the defused mine dump located at the end of the beach. Subsequent investigations by British authorities (while awaiting the definition of the new Italian-Yugoslav border, Pola, along with Trieste and Gorizia, belonged to Zone A under Anglo-American Military Administration) established that the explosion was intentional, but did not identify the perpetrator. However, the heroic figure of Dr. Geppino Micheletti, who treated dozens of wounded at the city hospital, even after learning that his two sons, Carlo and Renzo, were among the victims, was immediately evident. This massacre is among the reasons that pushed 30.000 people from Pula out of nearly 32.000 inhabitants of the city of the arena to face exodus when all of Istria was assigned to communist Yugoslavia (to whom the local public attributed responsibility for the attack) following the Peace Treaty of 10 February 1947.
"It will last a year. It was created to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Vergarolla massacre, but it will continue to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Exodus and the Peace Treaty. The Association of Italians of Pula and Istria – Free Municipality of Pula in Exile presents the symbol of remembrance: the sailor's knot becomes the knot of memory! Lest we forget! Thanks to Marco d'Agostino, our councilor, who created it," explains AIPI-LCPE President Lucia Bellaspiga, a second-generation Polesine exile.
The following is the program of ceremonies that will take place in Pula on Tuesday, August 18.
In Trieste, the National League will promote the commemoration that will take place on Tuesday, August 18, at the plaque on the San Giusto hill bearing the names of the identified victims of the Vergarolla massacre.
The service of the Trieste broadcaster Telequattro, who will follow the ceremony live on Tuesday 18 August starting at 17:00 pm.
We receive from February 10th Committee and we are happy to publish.
"Vergarolla: Eighty Years Later." The February 10th Committee will commemorate the 1946 massacre on August 18th. A flower will be laid on Italian monuments to unite all of Italy with Pula in a symbolic embrace.
The February 10th Committee will commemorate the eightieth anniversary of the Vergarolla massacre on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, throughout Italy.
C10F members will post on social media the poster created by the Committee featuring the phrase "I'm still looking for my heart on the other side of the sea," inspired by Simone Cristicchi's song "Magazzino 18."
Furthermore, each Committee member will lay a flower on a monument or symbolic site in their city, uniting all of Italy with Pula in a great, ideal embrace.
Worth noting is the inauguration of a memorial in Verbania (VCO), on August 18, at 10 a.m., in Via Bocci (cemetery area).
Following the conference held in Rome last May, the Committee continues its work to raise awareness and disseminate information on what is the first massacre in the history of the Italian Republic.
On August 18, 1946, a series of explosive devices piled up on the beach in Pula exploded, detonating near a sports competition. The horrific explosion killed around a hundred people, the vast majority of them Italians. The attack caused almost the entire population to flee the city and seek refuge in democratic Italy.
“The Vergarolla massacre is one of the most terrible and tragic pages in Italian history,” comments Silvano Olmi, national president of C10F. “On that summer day, several war devices exploded that had been lying on the beach at Pola for some time and were believed to have been defused.
Some of the victims' bodies were never found. The February 10th Committee will remember the victims and heroic figures such as Dr. Geppino Micheletti, who, despite losing his two sons and part of his family, continued to provide assistance to the wounded despite his profound loss.
Language
English
