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04/25/2024 – The President of the Province Giuseppe Paolini laid a commemorative wreath at the monument in Piazza d’Armi dedicated to the Three Martyrs, on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of the Liberation.
Paolini underlined the meaning of «finding oneself on a date and in a place that is symbolic for the territory and our history. So as not to forget what happened.” The monument is dedicated to the memory of Leone Balducci, Gino Barcelli and Santo Gagliardotto, partisans captured in Isola del Piano and killed on 11 May 1944 in Baia Flaminia by a German military unit, after being forced to parade through the main streets of Pesaro . «In Isola del Piano two partisans were killed at the Montebello monastery. Three others from the ‘Bruni Brigade’, including Leone Balducci from Isola del Piano, were captured in combat and then shot in Pesaro”, recalled the president.
The brigade then took the name of the ‘Leone Balducci Brigade’, following the allies up to Milan: «A thought of profound gratitude goes to them and to all those who died to defend the values on which our Constitution is based today. Honoring those who sacrificed their lives to defend the ideals of freedom and democracy is a more relevant duty than ever for institutions. It is essential to carefully guard and pass on the history of our partisans to new generations with determination. Very young boys who have given us a precious legacy, inclusive of the concepts of equality, peace and freedom.”
Paolini also mentioned his friendship with Polizzi Generosa, birthplace of Gagliardotto, which since 2003 has dedicated its own monument to the Three Martyrs shot in Pesaro, donated by the Municipality of Rapolano Terme «for everlasting memory, as testimony to the feelings of peace and civil, human values and solidarity between peoples and the oppressed”.
