Editing Padua (section)

===The 20th century===
When Italy entered [[World War I]] on 24 May 1915, Padua was chosen as the main command of the [[Italian Army]]. The king, [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Vittorio Emanuele III]], and the [[Commander-in-chief|commander in chief]], Cadorna, went to live in Padua for the period of the war. After the defeat of Italy in the battle of [[Kobarid|Caporetto]] in autumn 1917, the front line was situated on the river Piave. This was just {{cvt|50|-|60|km|0}} from Padua, and the city was now in range of the Austrian artillery. However, the [[Military of Italy|Italian military]] command did not withdraw. The city was bombed several times (about 100 civilian deaths). A memorable feat was [[Gabriele d'Annunzio|Gabriele D'Annunzio]]'s flight to [[Vienna]] from the nearby San Pelagio Castle air field.

A year later, the threat to Padua was removed. In late October 1918, the Italian Army won the decisive [[Battle of Vittorio Veneto]], and the Austrian forces collapsed. The [[Armistice of Villa Giusti|armistice was signed at Villa Giusti]], Padua, on 3 November 1918.

During the war, the industry grew rapidly, and this provided Padua with a base for further post-war development. In the years immediately following World War I, Padua developed outside the historical town, enlarging and growing in population, even if labor and social strife were rampant at the time.

As in many other areas in Italy, Padua experienced great social turmoil in the years immediately following World War I. The city was shaken by strikes and clashes, factories and fields were subject to occupation, and war veterans struggled to re-enter civilian life. Many supported a new political way, [[fascism]]. As in other parts of Italy, the [[National Fascist Party]] in Padua soon came to be seen as the defender of property and order against revolution. The city was also the site of one of the largest fascist mass rallies, with some 300,000 people reportedly attending one speech by [[Benito Mussolini]].

New buildings, in typical [[fascist architecture]], sprang up in the city. Examples can be found today in the buildings surrounding Piazza Spalato (today Piazza Insurrezione), the railway station, the new part of City Hall, and part of the Bo Palace hosting the University.

Following Italy's defeat in the [[Second World War]] on 8 September 1943, Padua became part of the [[Italian Social Republic]], a [[puppet state]] of the Nazi occupiers. The city hosted the Ministry of Public Instruction of the new state, as well as military and militia commands and a [[Military airbase|military airport]]. The Resistenza, the [[Italian resistance movement|Italian partisans]], was very active against both the new fascist rule and the Nazis. One of the main leaders of the Resistenza in the area was the University vice-chancellor, Concetto Marchesi.

From December 1943 to the end of the war, [[Bombing of Padua in World War II|Padua was bombed 24 times by Allied aircraft]]; the heaviest raids were the ones on 16 and 30 December 1943 (each of which caused 300 victims), 7 February 1944 (300 victims), 11 March 1944 (over 300 tons of bombs dropped by 111 bombers), 22 and 23 March 1944, 20 April 1944 (180 victims), 22 February and 12 March 1945.<ref name="giuliocesaro.it">{{Cite web |url=http://www.giuliocesaro.it/pdf/storici/012%20Bombardamenti%20aerei%20Padova.pdf |title=Bombardamenti aerei sulla città di Padova e provincia, 1943–1945 |access-date=11 February 2020 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304235909/http://www.giuliocesaro.it/pdf/storici/012%20Bombardamenti%20aerei%20Padova.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mattinopadova.gelocal.it/padova/cronaca/2013/03/11/news/11-marzo-69-anni-fa-il-bombardamento-che-distrusse-gli-eremitani-1.6679035 |title=11 marzo, 69 anni fa il bombardamento che distrusse gli Eremitani |date=11 March 2013 |access-date=11 February 2020 |archive-date=12 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412192227/https://mattinopadova.gelocal.it/padova/cronaca/2013/03/11/news/11-marzo-69-anni-fa-il-bombardamento-che-distrusse-gli-eremitani-1.6679035 |url-status=live }}</ref> The worst-hit areas were the railway station (the target of most raids) and the northern district of Arcella, where 96% of all buildings were destroyed; overall, 950 homes were destroyed and 1,400 damaged.<ref name="Enciclopedia Treccani">{{Cite web |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/padova_res-8da8cd0a-87e6-11dc-8e9d-0016357eee51_%28Enciclopedia-Italiana%29/ |title=Enciclopedia Treccani |access-date=11 February 2020 |archive-date=12 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412192238/http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/padova_res-8da8cd0a-87e6-11dc-8e9d-0016357eee51_(Enciclopedia-Italiana) |url-status=live }}</ref> During one of these bombings, the [[Church of the Eremitani]], with frescoes by [[Andrea Mantegna]], was destroyed, considered by some [[History of art|art historians]] to be Italy's biggest wartime cultural loss. The [[Padua Cathedral|Cathedral]] and the [[University of Padua|University]] also suffered damage.<ref name="Enciclopedia Treccani"/> Some 2,000 inhabitants of Padua were killed by the raids.<ref name="giuliocesaro.it"/>

On 26 April 1945, the partisans started the final insurrection against the Germans and Fascists; in the subsequent fighting, 224 partisans and 497 Germans were killed. 5,000 German troops, including three generals, surrendered to the partisans in Padua, and another 10,000 in the surrounding area; on 28 April New Zealand troops (2nd New Zealand Division) of the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]] entered the city.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=wUMQBQAAQBAJ&dq=generale+arnim+padova&pg=PT712 I nemici di Mussolini: Storia della Resistenza armata al regime fascista]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mattinopadova.gelocal.it/padova/cronaca/2017/04/24/news/quel-28-aprile-1945-ecco-come-fu-liberata-padova-1.15244441 |title=Quel 28 aprile 1945, ecco come fu liberata Padova |date=24 April 2017 |access-date=11 February 2020 |archive-date=19 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219092339/https://mattinopadova.gelocal.it/padova/cronaca/2017/04/24/news/quel-28-aprile-1945-ecco-come-fu-liberata-padova-1.15244441 |url-status=live }}</ref> A small [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|Commonwealth]] War Cemetery is located in the west part of the city, commemorating the sacrifice of these troops.

After the war, the city developed rapidly, reflecting Veneto's rise from being the poorest region in northern Italy to one of the richest and most economically active regions of modern Italy.