As he had been used to doing for some time now, with all the required authorizations, he was sweeping with his metal detector a private land in Fontanelice, in the Bolognese area, when he came across the remains of a German soldier, dating back, most likely, to the Second World War.
The protagonist of the story - which dates back to last November - was a 22-year-old volunteer member of the Gothic Line War Museum Castel del Rio who, thanks to his great passion for military archeology, knew well that, in that portion of the countryside ( in the heart of the Gothic line), something fascinating could be hiding.
In any case, he would never have imagined finding, with his trusty metal detector, the remains of a Germanic soldier.
That young man was on the right track, however, soon realized when - at a depth of about 40 centimeters - he had found some flat and rounded objects, probably metal buttons that German soldiers used to close their uniforms.
Alongside the finds, however, when cleaning the ground, he realized that there were also human remains, probably belonging to a German soldier. According to the reconstructions of local historians, the soldier could have been killed by anti-Nazi forces, perhaps by the partisans of the 36th "Garibaldi" Brigade who, in the autumn of 1944, with various war actions, caused huge losses to the Germanic invaders.
In particular, on 20 September 1944, on the Casolana, a German column was stopped and 9 were killed in the fire fight, while on the 25th of the same month some German patrols were attacked and reported some other casualties.
On 27 and 28 September, around Monte Battaglia, which rises to the 780 meters peak from the Fontanelicese territory in the locality of Posseggio located on the border with the municipality of Casola Valsenio, the most bloody fights took place, supported by the partisans of the 36th Brigade.
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On September 27, in particular, the partisan units - in agreement with the command of the American 5th Army - landed on Monte Battaglia and repelled a first furious German attack, inflicting considerable losses on the enemy; then, after being joined by units of the US 350th Regiment, partisans and Americans repelled a second German attack.
On the 28th, huge German forces with circumventing maneuvers counterattacked from various sides. The various partisan companies, even with the requested and obtained intervention of the allied artillery, fighting valiantly, faced, blocked and pushed back the attackers.
The partisans also repelled an attack by the SS and Black Brigades in the Posseggio area. In the evening, all the positions held by the partisans were surrendered to the American troops. The US infantrymen continued to fight until 5 October.
After the discovery of the remains of the German soldier, the Carabinieri of Fontanelice arrived on the spot - called by the 22-year-old. After carrying out an inspection, they informed the judicial authorities of the discovery.
At the disposal of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the bones found will be treated administratively and will be able to rest in the Futa Germanic Military Cemetery which is located in Firenzuola, in the Florentine area.