By the summer of 1944 the German defensive line against the allies was south of Rimini. Partisan efforts to attack the Nazi invaders concentrated primarily on sabotage efforts at this stage (though in April 1945 it would be the Partisans uprising in cities like Bologna, Milan and Turin, which would effectively liberate the country). In particular around Rimini efforts were aimed at disrupting food harvests, to stop valuable grain being shipped to Germany as part of the war effort.
It was in this context that three young Partisans, Luigi Nicolò, Adelio Pagliarani, Mario Capelli, sabotaged a threshing machine outside Rimini in August of 1944. It was an act of defiance for which they would pay dearly. The three were caught in a raid in Rimini, imprisoned and tortured, and three days later, on the 16th of August 1944 were hanged publicly in Piazza Giulio Cesare.
This barborous act is commemorated today both in the name of the Piazza, and in two commemorative plaques in the square. The plaques blend into the square, and so are easy to miss, but if you head to the corner where the Piazza meets Via IV Novembre, you'll see a plaque with three nooses on the wall. Turn around, and close by in the paving stones is a marker which shows where the scaffolding was placed to hang the young men.
Each year, on the anniversary of their deaths, these three young men are commemorated by the local branch of the Italian Partisan's Association A.N.P.I. with the laying of a wreath on this site. In recent years A.N.P.I. have also organised concerts - held in the nearby Corte degli Agostiniani - in their memory.
