A Wall of Memory

Un muro di Memoria

In Villa Sesso, in the municipality of Reggio Emilia, stands Casa Manfredi, a symbol of the Italian Resistance and a place of historical memory of the anti-fascist struggle.
This Manfredi family home served as an operational base for young partisans and hosted weekly meetings of the provincial GAP committee during the Second World War.
In 1944, the Fascist Black Brigades discovered the hideout and carried out a tragic raid: five members of the Manfredi family were killed - the father Virginio and his sons Alfeo, Gino, Aldino, and Guglielmo - while other partisans and families, such as the Miselli family, courageously took part in the fight for liberation.
Today, Casa Manfredi is the only visitable partisan house in the municipality and bears witness to the courage of local fighters.

The “Partigiano Reggiano” Mural

The Casa Manfredi site was further enhanced in 2019 with its reopening to the public, and on September 27, 2020, the large street art mural Partigiano Reggiano, created by Fabio Valentini (Neko) and Marco Temperilli (Maik), was inaugurated.
Promoted by Istoreco, ANPI (National Association of Italian Partisans), and the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, the artwork celebrates the memory of the martyrs of the Manfredi and Miselli families, becoming a true “gateway” to the city, visible even from the A1 motorway.
The mural also incorporates eight narrative panels and photographs along the fence of Casa Manfredi, recounting the history of Villa Sesso between 1944 and 1945.
In this way, the memory of local partisans is made accessible to everyone, transforming the site into a place of reflection and celebration of freedom, resistance, and active citizenship.
Casa Manfredi is also part of the city’s street art route, alongside other works that recall the faces of partisans from the Foscato district and commemorate tragic events such as the Bologna station massacre, contributing to a unique civic geography of historical memory.