Video: 'I Beatles in Italia (1/12) Twist and Shout' (The Beatles arrive at 0:27-1:46)

(Thursday, June 24, 1965, shortly after midnight Central European Time; during The Beatles’ 1965 European tour) — The Beatles arrived in Milan early this morning to a scene of chaos and euphoria as thousands of screaming fans swarmed Milano Centrale Station in hopes of seeing the Fab Four step onto Italian soil for the first time.

Scheduled to arrive at 10 p.m. on Platform 16, the British pop group’s train was instead quietly rerouted to Platform 3 after midnight in an attempt to avoid the mounting frenzy. By the time an announcement came over the loudspeaker, more than 3,000 fans had already broken through police lines, setting off a frenzy of screaming, running, and shoving in the soaring halls of the station.

Uniformed police, outnumbered and overwhelmed, struggled to hold the line as teenagers in pageboy wigs and Beatles jackets rushed toward the tracks. Batons were drawn as scuffles broke out and fans were pushed back from the platforms.

Amid the pandemonium, the Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—were quietly escorted through a side exit by security, vanishing from sight before anyone could catch a glimpse.

Their arrival marks the start of a whirlwind Italian “mini-tour” organized by promoter Leo Wächter, with performances scheduled in Milan, Genoa, and Rome. Yet despite the international hysteria surrounding the band, the Italian press greeted them with cool detachment—some calling them “sublime idiots,” others questioning their musical talent altogether.

Still, the fans’ devotion was undeniable. Long after midnight, crowds remained outside the Hotel Duomo, where the band was staying, singing Beatles songs into the warm summer night.

Beatlemania had officially reached Italy—press doubts notwithstanding.