On the morning of 9 September 1943, a frightening spectacle was offered to the people of Salerno: the sea was entirely covered by an enormous fleet. The soldiers land on the beaches north and south of Salerno, from the coast to Paestum. As expected, they meet German resistance: mines scattered on the ground, shots from the hills and the plain of the Sele attacked with tanks. The operation is by no means a walk in the park, but in the end, slowly, the allies manage to wrest ground from the Nazis and reach Naples, which in the meantime has already risen up against the occupiers. During these months of bombing and then with the landing many will be paying their tribute of blood and sacrifice themselves for the city. Among those, Don Felice Ventura, parish priest of Santa Margherita in Pastena, who refused to flee and chose to remain close to the faithful, finding death with them under a rain of bombs. Even the bishop Nicola Monterisi, with stoic heroism, decided to stay in the city and do as much as possible for the less fortunate.
