elected (Giacomo Ferri). In the same year the first was inaugurated. In 1907 even the ruling of the Comune was handed over to the Socialists (as an anticlerical inspiration it was named, from 1912 to 1927, Persiceto). After World War I land disputes again recurred, during which the massacre of Decima by public forces (5 April 1920) was carried out; in the political and social challenges particularly the fascists resorted to force against the socialists and their institution: many people of Persiceto had to leave the country because of their antifascist resentments or had to undergo jail or confinement. World War II and after During World War II, especially during the 20 months of the German occupation, resistance against the Nazis and the fascists developed in Persiceto and local partisans in the 63rd Garibaldi brigade sabotaged the transit of Nazi-fascist trucks and cars along the main road Bologna Verona Brennerpass, the passage of train convoys on the railway, electric lines and phone lines. The partisan forces underwent heavy losses after the mopping-up operations in Amola (5 December 1944), in Borgata Città (7 December) and in many other opportunities. At the end of the war, the night of 20 April 1945, partisan brigades took control of warehouses and factories to prevent their destruction by German troops in retreat, whereas the Allied troops entered the town the following night. After liberation, the inhabitants of Persiceto took part with commitment and interest in the political and social fights. In the elections, the left-wing parties (the communist and the socialist), prevailed and ruled together the municipality until 1980; the country fights record again force acts; heavy ideologies have riven the town. After the 1950s San Giovanni in Persiceto, a centre of agricultural production known for its markets (when in the Foro Boario thousands of cattle were gathered), underwent deep transformation from a mainly agricultural economy to an industrial and trading economy. The countryside was depopulated and the city expanded, which became the place of many high school addresses; after some decades of oblivion, the city library was born again; an important intermunicipal centre of sport plants and an extremely modern astronomical observatory were founded thereafter. Nowadays, just away from the Northern suburbs of Bologna, San Giovanni in Persiceto is part of the economic hub of the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, linked to Bologna by frequent train journeys. Main sights Civico Orto Botanico "Ulisse Aldrovandi",