The Vatican is bombed during World War II

The Bombing of The Vatican during World War II happened on the evening of 5 November 1943 when a Fascist Italian aircraft, departing from Viterbo, dropped five bombs on Saint Peter’s Basilica.Only four out of the five bombs detonated. The Vatican City was neutral during the whole of the war;both Allied and Axis bombers were told not to attack the Vatican when bombing Rome. Two months before the bombing, the Kingdom of Italy signed an armistice with the Allies. Nazi Germany responded quickly by driving the royal government from Rome, freeing Benito Mussolini, and establishing the Italian Social Republic. The bombing occurred while the city was under German occupation.

It was discovered in 2010 that the attack was a deliberate attempt to knock out the radio station, but the raid did not succeed. The Fascists were under the impression that Vatican radio was sending coded messages to the Allies. The attack was orchestrated by leading Italian Fascist politician and anti-clericalist, Roberto Farinacci, who wished the bombing to remain anonymous, so as not to give the nascent RSI a bad name. Damage from the raid can still be seen today, but it is not signposted in any way. There was no actual loss of life during the raid but several windows and a mosaic were destroyed, there was also severe damage to the Vatican’s train station and water-system.
The attack was the only breach of Vatican neutrality during the Second World War.