In the municipality of Barga you can visit the Multimedia Museum "Casa Brasile in Toscana" , which curated the exhibition "The FEB in the Gothic Line", dedicated to the Brazilian Expeditionary Force which, on 30 and 31 October 1944 fought against the Nazi troops in Barga.
Every year in the village a celebration is held in honor of this division, which managed to make an enormous contribution to the fate of the conflict, capturing as many as 14,000 German soldiers retreating near Fornovo di Taro. In 2022 a plate was affixed in Villa Libano, right where the soldiers of the division headquartered.
Historically Brazil is a country that does not participate in wars, it is no coincidence that the FEB was mainly made up of volunteers. At the beginning of World War II, despite Brazil remained neutral as President Vargas will, in 1942 the United States ordered the assignment of Fernando de Noronha Island and the Brazilian Northeast Coast to supply their military bases. For this reason, the torpedoing of some Brazilian merchant ships by German submarines began in January, with the specific aim of isolating the United Kingdom, preventing the receipt of equipment and raw materials from the United States. It was an offensive to intimidate the Brazilian force to remain neutral, carried out with defamation and false news, blaming the attacks on the Anglo-American fleets. On August 22, Brazil declared war against Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, leaving fertile l for the birth of the "FEB", or the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, initially constituted only by an infantry division, which ended up covering all the military forces of Brazil. The motto "The snake is smoking" was adopted, alluding to Hitler's statement "It is easier for a snake to smoke than Brazil to go to war".
Having arrived in Italy, the FEB became part of the American Fifth Army, entering in battle in September 1944 in the Serchio River Valley and immediately conquering Massarosa and Camaiore.
