At the beginning of 2024, thanks to an advertisement, I discovered the possibility of visiting the Colleferro air raid shelters. These are tunnels dug under the city of Colleferro, in fact, and which were used during the Second World War to protect the citizens from enemy air raids. They extended for about 6 km and were accessible from 15 different parts of the city.

Colleferro air raid shelters: the birth

The tunnels date back to the foundation of Colleferro; initially, these tunnels served as quarries for the
extraction of pozzolana to build the first buildings for the workers of the Bombrini Parodi Delfino munitions factory. The idea of ​​using the tunnels as shelters came with the first signs of what would later become the Second World War: the fear of bombings in this area was born from the fact that there was a munitions factory. Why exactly here, the shelters? The 15 entrances, in different parts of Colleferro, allowed citizens access from various parts of the city. In June 1940 the war entered and the shelters were quickly arranged, implementing some useful measures and adding benches in the corridors, to immediately provide safe shelters to the citizens; everything changed with the armistice of September 8, 1943, and, for this reason, many citizens decided to settle permanently in the shelters. Thus a “second Colleferro” was created 15/40 meters below the city streets. The pozzolana walls were covered with lime, to ensure a minimum level of hygiene and to improve the view in the poor light that there was thanks to a lighting system built by the quarry workers.


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Colleferro air raid shelters: the structure

The shelters were divided into “Villaggio Vecchio”, corresponding (on the surface) to the Santa Barbara neighbourhood, and “Villaggio Nuovo” corresponding to the Colle Sant’Antonino area. The first was intended exclusively for BPD employees, to avoid getting sick; the “Villaggio Nuovo”, on the other hand, was the area equipped with useful services for citizens: the infirmary, the municipal registry office, a tavern and, finally, a “store” was created where citizens could exchange cake for their basic necessities. This allowed citizens to lead a life that, in some way, recalled the one on the surface.

The end of the war

In June 1944, the Allies entered Colleferro from Via Latina and via Carpinetana; they were welcomed by everyone positively. The citizens were invited to remain in the shelters to avoid being victims of “revenge” bombings on the city by the Germans. For about fifty years after the end of the war, the shelters remained closed, partly used as mushroom farms; on December 4, 1985, for the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Municipality, the tunnels were reopened. Today the shelters can be visited.


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Colleferro air raid shelters: the visit

The visits, with a guide from the shelter, are on Saturday mornings; the ticket costs only 50 cents per person.
There does not seem to be a minimum number of people required to start: there were only two of us, and we started immediately; when we finished our tour, another visit was already starting with two other people. We start from the beginning of the history of the place when the tunnels were made for the munitions factory, and we retrace it thanks to some photos and the story told by the guide. Obviously, you cannot go through all the tunnels, but thanks to the reconstructions you can understand their history and evolution. Looking carefully at the walls you can still see them today. Signs that served as indications, for example, those to get to the infirmary or those that told people to be near the stairs (so there were no accidents). Today, many of the “doors” are closed, so the indications no longer lead anywhere. There are also some objects on display along the route: not all of them were found in the tunnels, but they are still useful for understanding how life was down there. You can also still see the doors that allowed workers to get to the factory without returning to the surface: these are also closed today, but they give a good idea of ​​this glimpse of life under Colleferro. In total, the visit lasts about an hour, perhaps a little more, giving a perfect idea of ​​the history of this place and its history.