Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry Folio 3, verso: March Part of Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry Date between 1412 and 1416 and circa 1440 Conde Museum, France Public Domain (US) via Wikimedia Commons
March is the third month on both the old Julian and current Gregorian calendar. It is the month that begins spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. March is believed to be derived from the Roman god Mars (Greek equivalent Ares). Before the advent of the Julian calendar, Romans considered March the first month of the new year. With winter over, it was also the start of military campaigns to resume. Festivals were also held at this time in ancient Rome to honor Mars as well.
The March equinox is usually around March 21-22. Many spring festivals take place in March. Passover and Easter may take place in March, but not always as it is dependent upon very specific calculations and can change from year to year. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17. If it falls on a Friday, Catholics are given dispensation to eat meat on that day (at least in Ireland and in areas where the feast is celebrated) If it falls on a Sunday, the diocese that observes the day will do so on Monday. For Ireland, since St. Patrick is its patron saint, it will be celebrated on Sunday replacing the normally observed day of Lent.
St. Patrick’s Day postcard, 1912 of “Old Weir Bridge” at Dinis Cottage, in Killarney National Park, Ireland. Public Domain/Wikipedia
The famous Ides of March (March 15) was once a day to pay debts in Rome, but it became infamously associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar on that day in 44 BC. Daylight Saving Time begins in the U.S. and Canada on the second Sunday in March. For most of Europe, this will occur on March 31. The first full moon of March is often called the Worm Moon as many earthworms are being noticed in the Northern Hemisphere.
[This has been updated from 2024 with updated sources.]
One of the deadliest train disasters in railroad history occurred during World War II in Italy when over 500 people would suffocate to death. No one was held accountable for it.
Balvano station master points the direction by which the train left. The tunnel shown is not the Armi tunnel, which is two kilometers further. 3 March 1944, Unknown Author Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
It began simply enough. On the evening 2 March 1944 freight train 8017 left Salerno, Italy to a rural area south of the city. This required it to pass through the Galleria delle Amri Tunnel Pass just outside Balvano. Although a freight train, it was common for a lot of civilian and military people to hop on the next convenient train. By the time the train had reached Balvano, the last train stop between the two long tunnels in the Apennines Mountains. it had 650 people aboard. It reached the stop near midnight and had to stop for maintenance.
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At ten minutes to 1 am, the train began its ascent into the Galleria delle Amri. The tunnel was poorly ventilated with 1.3% grade. Not long after entering the tunnel the train came to complete stop for 30 minutes. The exact reasons are still unclear. Either the train could not pull the overloaded freight cars, or it was waiting for another train to exit from the opposite direction. Some argue that humidity had caused the train wheels to slip, and sandboxes were not helping.
Unfortunately, due to wartime restrictions, the train was burning low grade coal which produced a lot of excess and odorless carbon monoxide.
Some of the corpses taken from the Italian passenger train that stalled in tunnel. 5 March 1944, Author Unknown. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
The train driver tried to reverse the train but fainted before he could accomplish it. An additional complication was that it was a two-locomotive set up. The driver in lead car could not communicate with the driver in the other one as they were not the same locomotive model. That driver was still trying to push forward. A brakeman walked back to Balvano getting there about 05:10. Quickly a locomotive was dispatched and got there by 05:25. It was too late. Many people had exited the freight cars hoping to find better air in the tunnel and died there. There were so any corpses on the rails prevented removal of the train. About 40 people in the last freight cars were alive. A second rescue mission at 08:40 was able to bring the train back to Balvano. The only train crew to survive was the brakeman and a fireman from the second locomotive.
Due to wartime restrictions, the US and Italians kept it out of the news. A commission was established to determine what happened. Blame was put on the low-quality coal and the station masters tolerating stowaways. The Italian railway company, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, declined all responsibility owing to the end of the war setup between the Italians and US. The Ministry of Treasury, in order to quell criticism, issued compensation to identified civilians (but it occurred 15 years later). A limitation on freight tonnage was introduced and the use of both diesel and steam locomotives for such routes were introduced, Steam engines were banned in 1959 and the line was electrified in 1996. Except for the train crew, the stowaways were buried in four common graves in Balvano cemetery.
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