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This article reconstructs the final moments of Pietro Caruso – former Chief of Police of Rome under Nazi occupation – who was executed by firing squad on September 22, 1944. The content is for educational and historical documentation purposes only, to help better understand the crimes of the Ardeatine massacre, the accountability process after Rome’s liberation, and the post-war justice context in Italy. It is not intended to glorify, justify, or downplay anyone’s crimes.
The Final Moments of Pietro Caruso
Background And Main Crimes
Pietro Caruso (1899–1944) was a police officer loyal to Mussolini’s Fascist regime. When German forces occupied Rome (September 1943 – June 1944), Caruso served as the Chief of Police of Rome (Questore di Roma) and collaborated closely with the SS and Gestapo.
He was notoriously infamous for his role in the Ardeatine Massacre (Fosse Ardeatine) on March 24, 1944:
After an Italian partisan group bombed and killed 33 German soldiers at Via Rasella, Hitler ordered a 10-to-1 retaliation.
Caruso and his Fascist collaborators helped the SS and Gestapo round up 335 innocent civilians (including Jews, political prisoners, and random civilians).
All 335 were taken to the Ardeatine caves, shot dead with machine guns and grenades, then buried inside the caves.
This was one of the most horrific war crimes in Italy during World War II.
After Rome Was Liberated
When the Allies liberated Rome on June 4, 1944, Caruso attempted to flee but was captured at a hospital in Florence. He was brought back to Rome for trial.
The special trial (Special Military Court) moved quickly. Caruso was charged with:
Collaborating with the occupying enemy
Crimes against humanity
Participation in organizing the Ardeatine massacre
He was sentenced to death by firing squad.
The Final Moments (September 22, 1944)
On September 22, 1944, Pietro Caruso was led to execution at an open area near Forte Bravetta (an old fort in the outskirts of Rome) – where many Fascist war criminals were executed after Rome’s liberation.
The execution was not public; there was no large crowd as in some other cases. Only the firing squad, court officials, and a few official witnesses were present.
Caruso was tied up, blindfolded, and stood before a 12-man firing squad.
He did not give a long speech. According to witnesses, he remained silent or whispered a few prayers.
The order “Fire!” was given. Caruso fell after the volley.
His body was then buried in a public cemetery, with no honors.
Historical Significance
The death of Pietro Caruso marked one of the first and fastest accountability actions against Nazi collaborators in Italy. His execution – along with several other Fascist officials – was the new post-liberation government’s way of asserting that crimes like the Ardeatine massacre would not be tolerated.
However, many argue that post-war justice in Italy remained limited: some high-level war criminals escaped or received only light sentences.
Pietro Caruso – who helped organize the massacre of 335 innocent civilians at the Fosse Ardeatine – ended his life by a firing squad volley on the morning of September 22, 1944. His final moments unfolded in silence, with no public pleas or crowds watching. His death was part of the effort to purge Fascist remnants after Rome’s liberation, but also a reminder that justice sometimes comes late, and the post-war era still holds many dark chapters.
Main sources:
Trial and execution records of Pietro Caruso – archives of the Italian Resistance History Institute (Istituto Romano per la Storia d’Italia dal Fascismo alla Resistenza).
“La Strage delle Fosse Ardeatine” – official documents on the Ardeatine massacre.
Contemporary Italian newspapers: Il Messaggero, L’Unità (September 1944).
“Rome ’44” – Ray Moseley (2004).
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum – records on the collaboration of the Rome police with the SS.
Documents from the Fosse Ardeatine Museum.