Today in History

November 5, 1943: Bombs fell on Vatican City, hitting the gardens, the mosaic workshop, the railway station, and near the Swiss Guard barracks. Thankfully they resulted in no deaths. The Vatican was neutral in WWII, so a bombing on its grounds was unexpected.

The bomber remains unidentified, with Italians, Germans, and Allies all denying it was them. It’s suspected to have been an accidental offshoot of the intense bombings in Rome at the time.