Astolfo Lunardi

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Astolfo Lunardi ( December 1, 1891 in Livorno - February 6, 1944 in Mompiano ) was an Italian lithographer , opponent of the fascist Repubblica Sociale Italiana and Catholic representative of the Resistance . He was arrested, tortured, tried together with Ermanno Margheriti , sentenced to death and executed.

life and work

Astolfo Lunardi moved to Lake Garda at the age of 20 to work in the profession he had learned. During the First World War he served as a lithographer for the Comando supremo in Padua , but was also involved in combat operations. In 1917 he was awarded the medal for bravery because he is said to have "boldly attacked the Austrians at the head of a train, stabbed them, captured them and snatched a machine gun from them". In 1927 he went to France for some time. From 1929 to 1934 he ran a studio for design and advertising posters in Toscolano-Maderno - together with his wife Amedea Romegialli. Parallel to his professional activity, he volunteered in a number of Catholic organizations, the Association of Former Salesian Students , in the Committee for Pilgrimages , in UNITALSI , which organizes pilgrimages for the sick and the disabled to Lourdes , in the local section of Arditi and as chairman of the Catholic men of the parish of St. Lorenzo.

After the armistice of Cassibile and the de facto takeover of power by the National Socialists in Northern Italy in September 1943, he devoted himself entirely to the resistance, led one of the Gruppi di Azione Patriottica (GAP) and organized the movement in Brescia . His house became the headquarters of the partisans . He was able to motivate a number of young people to resist and wanted to set up a national organization called Guardia civica . This did not happen, also because the fascists were looking for him on November 27, 1943 . He found refuge in the surrounding area, then hid with a friend in Milan and lived underground in the provinces of Cremona and Mantova. He never went back into his own house. He continued his resistance activity. For example, he took part in the Brigate Fiamme Verdi founding meeting.

On January 5, 1944, Ermanno Margheriti from Cremona, his right-hand man, was arrested. Through torture, the fascists were able to extract information from him that ultimately led to Lunardi's arrest the next day. He, too, was interrogated and tortured by the political department of the bursary. This was followed by charges against both of them for "organizing armed gangs to commit crimes under Article 347 CP and guerrilla actions against the armed forces of the state". The trial took place on February 5, 1944. In his testimony, Lunardi tried to protect the only 24-year-old co-defendant and to take all the guilt on himself. Nevertheless, both were sentenced to death. At 4 a.m. the next day, Lunardi and Margheriti were executed by firing squad at the Mompiano shooting range.

Today there is a school on the extensive grounds that bears his name and a memorial stone commemorating both those who were executed.

Antonio Fappani wrote about him: "He had adversaries, not enemies. For him all were brothers, and for all of them he was glad to sacrifice himself ..."

Award

Commemoration

The resistance magazine Il Ribelle (The Rebel), founded in March 1944 by Carlo Bianchi , Teresio Olivelli and Claudio Sartori , dedicated the cover of its first issue to the biographies and appreciation of the two people who had just been executed, Astolfo Lunardi and Ermanno Margheriti. The Divisione Fiamme Verdi Lunardi , named after him, was a combat division of the Brigate Fiamme Verdi .

The Istituto Lunardi , a secondary school in Brescia, bears his name. In Brescia, Cazzago San Martino , Coccaglio , Colombaro , Corte Franca , Livorno (since 1947) and Manerbio streets are named after him.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Lunardi, Astolfo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian lithographer and resistance fighter against National Socialism
DATE OF BIRTH December 1, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH Livorno , Italy
DATE OF DEATH February 6, 1944
Place of death Mompiano