The ANPI, National Association of Italian Partisans, was born on 6 June 1944, while Northern Italy was under Nazi-fascist occupation and was configured as a moral body established more clearly only after the liberation in 1945. «Initially – explained Rosalba d’Addato, president of ANPI Bisceglie – only Partisans and possibly their family members could register. It was later opened to all people who saw themselves in anti-fascist values, which then coincide with those on which our Constitution is based, and this says a lot.”
The Bisceglie section was born in 2019, in parallel with the birth of the ANPI Bat on the initiative of Roberto Tarantini. «There was already a section of ANPI in Bisceglie, only it was no longer operational and so we made sure to revive it and then we named it after Michele d’Addato, my father». Michele D’Addato, in fact, was an important footballer and coach, well known in Bisceglie. However, very little was known about his connection with the Resistance.
«He had only talked about it in part. A crucial moment for us was when after my grandmother’s death we found her partisan license (patent photo) in my grandmother’s house. I was 30 years old, dad had already passed away. I chose to take that patent and keep it as a manifesto of my family’s values.” Each territorial section of ANPI has well-defined prerogatives. The function of the southern Anpi consists in rediscovering the value of the contribution that the Southern Partisans gave in the partisan struggle.
«We deal with this because essentially there have been few operational resistance events in the south: the big contribution was given by the Partisans of the south but still in the northern formations» explained Rosalba. «In addition to this vocation, our group is also involved in tracing the history of women who fought in the resistance, in fact we were very keen that our first meeting open to the public with the actually constituted ANPI was held on the occasion of the presentation of the book by Marisa Ombra “Always free”.
Another fundamental piece for the history of the local and provincial group of ANPI, Roberto Tarantino’s book “Deported Military Internees. Partisans and Victims of German Revenge from the province of Barletta – Andria – Trani”, a truly invaluable source of information. It is a catalog of the names of all the openly anti-fascist people, the partisans, all the fascist years and all the IMI, the Italian military internees.
«The IMI issue also represents a prerogative for us. Immediately after 8 September – added D’Addato – the soldiers who did not join the Republic of Salò were arrested and interned in Germany. In fact they lived under a concentration regime, they were not even recognized as political prisoners.”
According to the sources of these too, many were from Bisceglie and on this topic important research and discovery work was carried out by Pietro Preziosa, vice president of ANPI Bisceglie. «Since the first years of activity, the Administration has proven to be very helpful, just as the citizens, or at least a segment that we have reached, have reacted with interest and curiosity» said the president. «Moreover, in this round of congress Bisceglie is also home to the provincial headquarters, based on the rotation that we have decided to carry out in the province and will remain so for the next three years or so».
Other fundamental figures with whom the Bisceglie group had the opportunity to deal were Adelmo Cervi, the partisan Luciana Romoli, the historians Avagliano and Gobetti, Marco Damiano, Benedetta Tobagi and Laura Boldrini to whom the Bisceglie section donated an honorary membership card to ANPI. «During our activity we have started various projects. We have sponsored some book presentations, as we believe that the cultural moment is a particularly important moment. We also worked by involving schools: there are teachers who are particularly close to us” recalled Rosalba d’Addato.
During the pandemic, ANPI Bisceglie also involved middle schools in some of their activities, for example on the occasion of the presentation of Ugo Foà’s book, «The child who couldn’t go to school» on racial laws. There are many collaborations between associations, in particular with Amnesty International, Arcigay and Pax Christi, with which ANPI shares the pacifist vision. «Today the ANPI boasts the presence of various work and research groups: one group is very committed to the theme of women’s resistance, then there is a small group that works on the historical research of anti-fascist figures in Bisceglie and has as its figure reference Antonio Pasquale; there is certainly a group oriented towards historical research on the Emi. Added to this is our commitment to civil battles, first of all trying to activate resistance to the law of differentiated autonomy” explained the president.
Why should a young person approach ANPI?
«Certainly from memory he can draw the legs for what his future path may be. As Canfora said, moreover, “history is not sued but studied” and we consider it a small bastion of defense and application promotion of the Constitution”.
Upcoming projects for the association include participation in the Erienefest with an exhibition, Athena Pacifism, on the flags of peace. In fact, during the fascist era they were sewn and embroidered by hand by women partisans of peace. These flags were later found in the ANPI section of Minervino. «These are historical fragments, which we hope can be foundational for current paths» concluded Rosalba.
