Piazza Romano Mazzali and the Town Hall of Villa Poma

The square of Villa Poma originally stood beside the Strada Provinciale (now SS12) opposite the Town Hall (built between 1911 and 1913 in Art-Nouveau style and always the municipal seat) and extended as far as the schools.

By the late 1920s, Villa Poma had grown to become a small town, as described by the local council of the times, and there was a need for a more appropriate centre. A generous donation of land by Giuseppe Pinotti made it possible to enlarge the square, the perimeter of which was then surrounded with railings, columns and gates.

In 1945, Romano Mazzali performed a heroic act: young, noble-minded, kind and generous, in the troubled years of the last war, he developed patriotic ideas and an aversion to the German oppressors. Wounded in his family affections by the death of a cousin in a concentration camp, he joined the partisans (122nd Brigata Garibaldi Po). On 23 April 1945, his courage prompted him and a group of partisans from Villa Poma to attack the retreating Germans. He was killed by a burst of machine-gun fire in the square, which was named after him.

His fellow citizens placed a plaque on the side of the Town Hall bearing the words ‘Piazza Romano Mazzali – a Martyr for Freedom’. In spring 1961, the council made the name official in memory of his courage.

In 1964, Claudio Codifava donated the land behind the Town Hall, which was part of the Cafina estate, allowing the municipal administration to enlarge the square to its current size. Improvements and changes have since been made, the most recent in 2011, which involved restoring part of the square’s original appearance by rebuilding the columns that had marked its entrance.