Four days of Naples

The Four days of Naples refers to the popular uprising in the Italian city of Naples between 27 and 30 September 1943 against the German forces occupying the city during World War II, immediately before the arrival of the first Allied forces in Naples on 1 October. The attacks by the townsfolk and the Italian Resistance on the occupying forces, despite limited arms and planning, disrupted German plans for mass deportations, large scale destruction and potentially resistance to Allied forces approaching the city and, for these actions, the city was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

From 1940–43, Naples suffered heavy Allied bombing raids, which caused much damage and heavy losses among the civilian population. It has been calculated that 20,000 of its inhabitants fell victim to these indiscriminate attacks: over 3,000 died in the raid of 4 August 1943 alone, while around 600 were killed and 3,000 injured by the explosion of the ship Caterina Costa in port on 28 March. The city's artistic and cultural heritage also suffered damage, such as the partial destruction of the Chiesa di Santa Chiara on 4 December 1942. With the Allied advance in southern Italy, anti-Fascists in the Naples area began to establish closer contacts with the Allied commanders, and requested Naples' liberation.

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