In the centenary dedicated to the birth of Tito Balestra the history of the Italian partisans could not be missing, precisely because Tito himself was one, in fact during his university period, between 1943 and 1945, he engaged in the partisan struggle, earning a “Patriot Certificate” by General Harold Alexander, commander in chief of the Allied Armies in Italy. The event, with free entry, is for Tuesday 23 April at 9.00 pm in the Arengo room, located on the first floor of the Malatesta castle of Longiano (FC) where Chiara Colombini will present her book “Passionate history of the partisan war” Laterza, Bari-Rome 2023.
After greetings from Luca Bussandri, president of Anpi Rubicone, at the table there will be high-calibre academic speakers, starting with the writer of the book Chiara Colombini from Istoreto – Piedmontese Institute for the History of Resistance, Turin and contemporary society ‘Giorgio Agosti’, who will discuss with Roberta Mira of the scientific committee of the Parri Historical Institute of Bologna and of the Historical Institute of Forlì-Cesena; coordinator of the meeting Stefano Vitali of the archives and libraries commission of the Ferruccio Parri national institute
The book: Starting from 8 September 1943, and until 25 April 1945, thousands of young and old abandoned their usual lives, took up arms and threw themselves into an adventure that turned their existence upside down. The essay recounts the passions and feelings that certainly moved the women and men who chose the path of rebellion and resistance during the war. Chiara Colombini tries to really understand them, capturing, through diaries, letters and correspondence, these passions ‘live’, as they erupted during those twenty months, keeping in the background what only the unfolding of history has allowed us to rationalize. In a time conditioned by the exceptionality that derives from the intertwining of total war, occupation and civil war, the partisans fall in love, cultivate ambitions, become fired up with enthusiasm or tormented by dissatisfaction. A condition in which, in addition to life, what one has chosen to be is at stake. And, almost eighty years later, the charm of that experience so central to the history of this country emerges intact, its dimension of profound humanity, the price paid by men and women directly in their lives, their legacy.
Chiara Colombini, is a historian and researcher at the Piedmontese Institute for the history of the Resistance and contemporary society. You edited, among others, Resistance and the autobiography of the nation. Public use, representation, memory (with Aldo Agosti, Edizioni SEB27, 2012) and political writings. Between Giellism and Actionism (1932-1947) by Vittorio Foa (with Andrea Ricciardi, Bollati Boringhieri, 2010) and she is the author of Justice and Freedom in Langa. The Resistance of the III and X Divisions GL (Eataly Editore 2015) and Even the partisans however… (Laterza, 2021).
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Tags: Tito Balestra Foundation Longiano anniversary Liberation celebrated Chiara Colombinis book
