CAMPO DI CARNE
Campo di Carne is a small town on the road between the Anzio beachhead and Aprilia, south of Rome. Its existence can be established as far back as 1661 when it was included on a colorful map of the area. The origins of the name (literally, 'field of meat') are presumed to be rooted in the long-standing use of the area as a place to raise cattle and other animals for eventual human consumption. By mere coincidence, the town's peculiar name would take on additional significance during World War II.
By January 24, 1944, the Allied Forces that had come ashore at Anzio-Nettuno had reached Campo di Carne while German units were massing north of Campoleone. Territorial gains beyond Carroceto and 'The Factory' (Aprilia) extended the line, until the ferocity of Operation Fischfang (=Fishery) forced British 56th Division to retreat to Dead End Road, close to the overpass (a road bridge over the railway) at Campo di Carne from where they had set out three weeks earlier.
The overpass, known as 'The Flyover', was under severe and constant bombardment from heavy artillery in the Alban Hills and was known to men who had to fight there as 'The Gate to Hell'. The nearby railway station still exists but there is no immediate sign of the carnage that took place in 1944. War photographs of the overpass have come to represent the horror of the Anzio beachhead. By most accounts some 30,000 people, civilians included, died during the fighting in this area.
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