Chapter Six

When I began researching Rossano's life, I had no idea that he was a leader in the Italian Resistance. This chapter focusses solely on that part of his life and the risks that he, Lydia and his fellow countrymen took against the Nazi regime. I found this part of his story fascinating and heroic. 

This photo was taken in Rome during the occupation.

This is Rossano's uncle: Marcello Mimmi, Archbishop of Bari and later Cardinal of Naples at the Vatican. Rossano was in and out of the Vatican during his time in the Resistance and served with either the Palatine or Noble Guards, protecting the Pope. He was very aware of who, in the clergy, were pro-facist and anti-facist and used those contacts occasionally to help his group.

It took me some time to find the commemorative stone dedicated to the partisans during this conflict. Having read about the heroism of many ordinary Italian men and women, I was somewhat disgusted to see it tucked away behind the Victor Emmanuel monument. But, at least there is something here to recognise them.

Rossano speaks about the Ardeatine Massacre during the occupation.

The Ardeatine Massacre took place at the Ardeatine caves just outside of Rome. It is now a memorial to those killed by the Nazis. You can, of course, read about this in the book. I visited this place because I wanted to show my respect. Rossano knew people who were killed here, one of them in particular worked with Rossano at Cinecitta. The son of this victim now takes people of guided tours of the memorial. I read what happened to his father and the torture inflicted on him. Quite honestly, it reduced me to tears. This memorial is on the outskirts of Rome. There is a bus stop nearby.

Please visit the website to find out more details about this memorial and how to get there: https://www.mausoleofosseardeatine.it/visit-us/

In the book, Rossano leads me to the corner of Via Rasella and Via Del Boccaccio. He explains the incident that led to the Ardeatine Massacre. It took place here, in the centre of Rome. The bullet holes are still visible, as you can see. It really brought it home to me how people must have been living during the occupation. 

The photo on the right is from that incident. It was taken on the Via Rasella after the bomb detonated. This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license. Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-312-0983-10 / Koch / CC-BY-SA 3.0. My thanks to them for allowing me to use this powerful image.

The Via Rasella is not far from where Rossano and Lydia were living during the late 40s and early 50s. The closest metro station is Barberini and it's just off the Via Delle Quattro Fontaine. 

The Regina Coeli prison on the Via della Lungara alongside the banks of the Tiber River. 

Conditions in the third wing, where Rossano was incarcerated, don't bear thinking about. It's still a prison today and photos of the interior during the war look pretty grim. I was able to go into quite a bit of detail in the book and, as always, with a dictatorship in charge, torture and starvation were par for the course.

Via Tasso, just a short walk from the Colloseum is now the Liberation of Rome Museum. During the occupation it was the headquarters of the Gestapo. One side was used for offices, the other side was a prison and used, pretty much solely, to torture prisoners. It's free to enter but staff do ask you to donate if you can. It's well worth a visit and some of the rooms have been left to show conditions, albeit smartened up for visitors!

For details on visiting and directions, please visit their website: https://www.museoliberazione.it/en/

A Vatican Lifeline '44 by William Simpson; a book that I have now read several times. The first two read throughs were for research and then I read it simply because I found Simpson's experience fascinating, heroic and brave. Simpson was in prison at the same time as Rossano. It's an extraordinary book of ordinary servicemen (escaped POWs) helping the partisans fight the Nazi regime. Simpson would have come into contact with Rossano's group of partisans as he was asked to help hide some escaped POWS from Cinecitta which is where Rossano's group operated.

This is such a good read. By the end of the fourth chapter, I wanted to go to Italy and shake the hand of every partisan still alive!!

On the left is Colonel Herbert Kappler, the head of the SS in Rome during the occupation and the man who carried out Hitler's orders in respect of the Ardeatine Massacre. He was also responsible for a number of atrocities during that time.

On the right is Irish priest, Hugh O'Flaherty, a true hero of the occupation.

This part of my research took me away from the biography a little because I found it so interesting. I came across a film called The Scarlet and the Black. It follows the true story of Kappler and how he tried to thwart the Irish priest Hugh O'Flaherty in his efforts to save escaped POWs and those of Jewish faith. O'Flaherty was based at The Vatican and, incredibly, they had their own resistance group within the Vatican City. Rossano would have known him as the Vatican group did help to house some prisoners from the Cinecitta camp. The film stars Christopher Plummer as Kappler and Gregory Peck as O'Flaherty. It's a good watch.

There is another film that concentrated solely on the Ardeatine incident. This was called Massacre in Rome. I didn't enjoy this film as much as the Gregory Peck one. I never thought I'd say this about Richard Burton but he didn't convince me with his portrayal of Kappler. In some respects, he seemed too British!!  One thing that I thought was very poignant was the fact that, at the end, instead of the credits, they simply list the people who were murdered. 

It's hard to believe that The Vatican had their own group of resistance. Again, I would urge those interested to read William Simpson's book, A Vatican Life '44. Simpson, a British army office, was integral to that group. It gives a good insight into life inside the Vatican during the occupation.

Here is The Vatican and St Peter's Square. At the time of the occupation, the Nazis had painted a white line as a perimeter. Father O'Flaherty was told, in no uncertain terms, that if he crossed that border, he would be shot.

An entry for Rossano's friend, Gerardo, who was killed at Ardeatine. I read through some papers relating to this particular gentleman. One of them was a description by his son, who now acts as a guide to the memorial site. His story reduced me to tears and it made me want to pay my respects to his grave in particular at Ardeatine.