By order of the prefect and Head of the Province of Grosseto, Alceo Ercolani, a division of the National Republican Guard, together with some squadristi and local fascist leaders, rounded up, summarily tried, and executed eleven young men who were deemed guilty of not reporting for conscription to the Italian Social Republic and therefore were wanted as deserters.

Following the armistice of 8 September 1943, a group of young men, who had not enlisted in the army of the Italian Social Republic, took refuge in the hilly area of Monte Bottigli near Istia d'Ombrone to escape the Republican fascist militias during the winter.

[1] Having learned of the presence of deserters in the countryside of Monte Bottigli, the prefect and Head of the Province, Alceo Ercolani, tasked a public safety officer, the Sicilian Lucio Raciti, with going to the nearby area of Maiano Lavacchio and infiltrating there to gather information.

He gained the trust of Angiolo Biagi, who introduced him to Mario Becucci, an evacuee from La Spezia who was wanted and seeking guidance to reach the huts in Monte Bottigli.

The operation covered the entire rural area between Istia d'Ombrone and Maiano Lavacchio and involved a column of the 98th Legion of the National Republican Guard, led by Lieutenant Vittorio Ciabatti, the "Ettore Muti" action squad, commanded by Captain Michele De Anna, a group of public safety officers led by Commissioners Sebastiano Scalone and Pompilio Lorenzini, and some Carabinieri from the Monteverde Group.

[2] The group of fascists took the eleven young men, after beating them, to the Appalto farm in Maiano Lavacchio and began a summary trial in the local school.

The duration of the "sham trial" was less than half an hour and ended with the death sentence for the eleven youths and the acquittal of the Sardinians Piria and Careddu, and Francesco Biagi and Ermenegildo Corsetti, who were charged with possession of rifles.

[1] The execution squad was led by Inigo Pucini, the prefectural commissioner of Grosseto, and included at least Michele De Anna, Alfredo Del Canto, Lucio Raciti, Armando Gori, and Mario Giannini.

[5] The successful outcome of the operation was well received by Prefect Ercolani, who expressed satisfaction and proposed rewards for the executors, describing the eleven draft evaders in an official report as an "armed gang".

[1] "Penetrating the thick woods, Captain De Anna and Lieutenant Muller, along with their men, overcame many difficulties and managed to surprise the armed gang in their sleep.

to forward proposals for military valor awards for Captain De Anna, Lieutenant Muller, and anyone else deserving, along with the names of those members who particularly distinguished themselves, for a monetary reward.

On 26 April 1944, at the assembly of the Republican Fascist Party in Grosseto, Ercolani's actions and those of the high-ranking officials were harshly criticized by some members, who deemed the massacre a political suicide.

The trial, which consolidated all the investigations into the roundups that had occurred in the province, was initiated in June 1946 by the Special Section of the Assize Court of Grosseto and had the provincial head Ercolani and all the major Republican Fascist leaders on the defendants' bench.

[3] Specifically, for the Maiano Lavacchio case, it was demonstrated that the responsibility was entirely Italian, as it was established that the German unit had only taken part in the roundup; thus, full responsibility was attributed to all the main Grosseto fascist leaders, including deputy police chief Scotti, prefectural commissioner Pucini, Captain De Anna, Lieutenant Ciabatti, public safety commissioners Lorenzini and Scalone.

Captain Michele De Anna, commander of the "Ettore Muti" squad in the Monte Bottigli operation, was the only one not to spend a single day in prison: having gone into hiding, he waited to benefit from the amnesty, which came on 29 August 1959; he later settled in Rome, where he practiced as a doctor.

The event was attended by a crowd of over 1,500 people, including all public officials, Prefect Adolfo De Dominicis, and members of the National Liberation Committee and the Allied Military Government.

[11] At the site of the execution, the Matteini family erected the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows (cappella dell'Addolorata), where a religious commemoration of the massacre is held every year on 22 March.

[7] In 2014, the Grosseto municipal administration, headed by Mayor Emilio Bonifazi, named four streets in Istia d'Ombrone, after Guidoni, Mignarri, Minucci, and the Matteini brothers.

[7] On 22 March 2023, the Casa della Memoria al Futuro ("House of Memory for the Future") was inaugurated at the rural school of Maiano Lavacchio, restored for the occasion by architect Edoardo Milesi.