This documentary delves into a rarely told chapter of World War II — the Battle of Ortona — as witnessed by those who endured it: the Canadian soldiers on the front lines and the Italian civilians caught in the crossfire. Through deeply personal recollections from survivors on both sides, the film vividly reconstructs the fierce urban combat that consumed the small Adriatic town in December 1943.
Moments of fragile humanity — like the shared Christmas meal inside the Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, a fleeting pause amid chaos — stand in stark contrast to the relentless, street-by-street fighting that gave the battle its grim moniker, “Bloody December.”
Through these memories, the film illuminates the courage, sacrifice, and enduring spirit of those who lived through Ortona’s devastation — and the emotional scars that lingered long after the final shots were fired.
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