The Figline Massacre

On 1 September 1944, while waiting for the upcoming liberation of Prato, the Prato National Liberation Committee met the South African vanguards in Campi Bisenzio. The Committee then organised the occupation of the town before the arrival of the Allies. The main Prato partisan formation, the 'Buricchi', which was based in the wooded area of Faggi di Javello, was also ordered to reach the town. On the way down, however, near Figline, the partisans ran into a group of German soldiers. During the ensuing battle, the partisans dispersed: some of them returned to base, others reached the town. The Germans immediately organised a large round-up. There were around thirty captured partisans who were then taken to Villa Ristori in Figline, the headquarters of the German command, and subjected to a summary trial.

On the morning of 6 September, the prisoners were taken to the centre of Figline to be hanged from the rafters of the vault in Via Maggio. The hanging took place almost simultaneously with the entry of the South Africans into Prato, so much so that some cannon shots fired by them on Figline hastened the execution: the last prisoners were in fact shot. However, a partisan or two managed to save themselves due to the confusion created by the cannonade.

Today, a monument stands in the street dedicated to the 29 partisans killed, while a bas-relief has been placed under the vault of Via Maggio to commemorate the event.