Saturday, 2:36–2:45 PM. Modena. American aircraft bombed. 500 bombs were dropped on the city center. Nearly thirty of them unexploded, including one in the lake in the Public Gardens. The Duomo and the Palazzo Ducale (the balcony overlooking Piazza Roma), the stands of the Marzari Stadium, and the Corni Foundries were also damaged, while Villa Pentetorri, used as an ammunition depot by the Germans, was almost completely destroyed. Three bomber formations engaged in the attack. The attack lasted only six minutes, with one wing flying from west to east and another from north to south. More than one hundred people were killed, over two hundred were injured, three thousand were left homeless out of just over one hundred thousand people who remained in the city (another thirteen thousand were displaced), and four hundred buildings were destroyed or damaged.
