During the Second World War, Venice was largely free from attack, the only aggressive effort of note being Operation Bowler, a successful Royal Air Force precision strike on the German naval operations in the city in March 1945.
The targets were destroyed with virtually no architectural damage inflicted on the city itself. However, the industrial areas in Mestre and Marghera and the railway lines to Padua, Trieste, and Trento were repeatedly bombed.
On 29 April 1945, a force of British and New Zealand troops of the British Eighth Army, under Lieutenant General Freyberg, liberated Venice, which had been a hotbed of anti-Mussolini Italian partisan activity.
Just years after the war, these beautiful photos from
gbfernie5 show what Venice looked like in the early 1950s.
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| On the Grand Canal, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Bridge of Sighs, Rio de Palazzo, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Bridge of Sighs, Rio de Palazzo, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Gondolier, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Grand Canal, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Northerly view along Rio di S. Lorenzo from Ponte dei Greci, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Northerly view from bridge on Salizzada dei Greci, along Rio de la Pleta, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Northerly view from Fondamenta Furlani (near the bridge on Salizzada dei Greci), along Rio de la Pleta, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Northerly view from Ponte de la Comenda along Rio di S. Antonin, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Piazzetta, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Piazzetta, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Rialto Bridge, Grand Canal, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Riva degli Schiavoni, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| St Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| St Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| St Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Sunset over Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Torre dell'Orologio on St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco), Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| View from Ponte de la Guerra of Rio di San Zulian, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| View from Ponte della Paglia (next to the Doge's Palace) towards the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy, early 1950s |
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| Banner for the XXVIII Venice Biennale hanging from the Rialto Bridge, Venice, Italy, 1956 |
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| View from Fondamenta Salute, Venice, Italy, 1956 |
Worst pics of Venice ever...but at least it isn't more pics of England.
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