Pisa, March 30, 2006
Spent the day back at the Istituto Feruccio Parri, where we went through the CUMER files once more and also old issues of the Fascist controlled newspaper, Il Resto del Carlino.  As is always the case when looking at such copies, we got loads of really good detail about day-to-day living in Bologna and Emilia.  And good to read material that was from the Neo-Fasscist perspective.  Drove back to Pisa and had enough time to spare to have a look at the leaning tower etc. 

 

Marzabotto, Italy, March 29, 2006
This has been a really good day.  I was keen to speak to partisans from a Garibaldi Brigade, as were ostensibly Communist, and Julia managed to track down former members of the 8th Garibaldi Brigade who operated in the mountains south of Forli.  She had arranged to meet a number of them at the ANPI offices in Forli, so that’s where we headed first thing. Signor Mateucci was Julia’s contact and he told us he had arranged to take us back to some of their old haunts.  So after chatting to a number of people in the offices, we headed out with Signor Mateucci and Signor Miserocchi and drove south into the mountains.  Both men had great stories to tell.  Jader Miserocchi had been a Communist, although he admitted his political beliefs were more a kind of socialism rather than Soviet-style Communism.  He had only very narrowly avoided execution in Ravenna for publicly admitting to being a Commie, but had managed to escape from prison and then headed to the hills.  We met another former partisan in Galeata, where we had a long and fascinating lunch, which reminded me of my day with Stephen Hastings and Muro and Co nearly two years before.  The old men had a heated discussion about modern politics and the newcomer had to be quietened by the others for speaking out too loudly against Berlusconi.  All three vowed to leave Italy if the PM got re-elected.  After lunch the other man went on his way, but not before he’d given me some gruesome photographs of his father being executed in early 1944. 

We drove on to Santa Sofia, where we met some more ex-partisans, including two staffettas  (women messengers), then took a trip right up into the mountains where they had fought a big battle with the Germans.  After this, we finally headed back to Forli, where we interviewed Signors Mateucci and Miserocchi some more. 

It was getting dark when we finally said goodbye and headed back towards Bologna.  All the interviews we’ve done this week have been fantastic, and I’ve certainly now got a much better picture of how the Partisans operated, and more to the point, the part politics played in band such as the 8th Garibaldi.  I am certain now that it was less important amongst the majority of partisans than has often been suggested.

 

Forli, Italy, March  28, 2006
Spent all morning at the Istituto Feruccio Parri and found some great material.  Over all co-ordination of the Partisans was left to the CLN, (National Committee of Liberation), but there were regional organisations too, answerable to the CLN.  In Emilia Romagna this was CUMER (Corpo Militare Unico Emilia Romagna), and all partisan bands in the area were supposed to be under CUMER’s control.  Fortunately, CUMER kept pretty good records, including a monthly write-up of each partisan brigade’s activities during the preceding weeks.  We also discovered quite a bit of correspondence between CUMER and Lupo – and usually Lupo was in trouble for not following the CUMER/CLN line.  I’m getting the impression that the Partisans were a lot more organised and sophisticated than I’d originally appreciated.

In the afternoon we drove off to Reggio Emilia to see Glauco Monducci, a contact that came via Julia’s mother.  He’s written his memoir but told us he hadn’t agreed to an interview before, which was nice to know.  Anyway, he had a very good story [see Oral History Archive] and I must, I think, include him in the book, even if it is at the expense of someone else.

By the time we left it was evening and we drove straight back down the A1, past Bologna and on to Forli, where tomorrow we will be meeting with former partisans of the 8th Garibaldi Brigade.

Bologna, March 27, 2006
Up early and up the narrow, winding A1 between Florence and Bologna.  Julia did not enjoy the journey: the enormous juggernauts seem horrible close and swerve all over the place, while macho Italian drivers sit two inches from your rear bumper.  Spectacular scenery, though, and I felt quite excited glimpsing Castiglione dei Pepoli from the motorway and then a few miles north, Monte Sole.  Once again I was reminded what a crazy country Italy is to fight a war.  Mountains, mountains, mountains. 

Got off the motorway at Sasso Marconi and then headed the short distance south to Marzabotto.  It seems like an age since I was last here with Roddy.  We met up with Anna Salerno, who was just as I remembered, and took us to her new office where the archives are stored. We had a good day, and found some interesting examples of Lupo’s anti-political stance.  German forces always termed Partisans as ‘bandits’ or ‘communists’ but despite being called the Stella Rossa, (Red Star), Lupo insisted the brigade should ally itself to any political party.  I am sensing that the degree to which individual bands were overtly political may have been overcooked.

When we finished in Marzabotto, we drove up to Monte Sole.  I was keen to see Ca’dotto, where Lupo had been killed and many of the Stella Rossa had made their last stand.  Anna had got permission from the owner for us to do so, but it involved a longish walk down the side of a mountain and when we got there, the track was too wet and muddy and neither of us really the right kind of footwear. 

Headed up to Bologna, but it took us ages to find a hotel. Everywhere seemed to be booked.  We eventually found somewhere close to where we have to be tomorrow morning, so in the end it worked out fine.  I later found out that the reason Bologna is so full is because of the International Book Fair.  Of course!

 

San Miniato, Italy, March 26, 2006
Back in Italy again with Julia.  Getting decent flights has been a problem because I left it a little late.  There must also be something going on in Bologna because all the flights there were unbelievably pricey.  So instead we flew to Pisa, picked up a car and drove a short way along the motorway before stopping for the night.