25 Aprile

Apr. 25th, 2008 03:41 pm
[personal profile] kasche
I tried the English version of Wikipedia, to see whether it talked at all about what the 25th of April means to us. If you click here, and scroll down all the way to 1945, you'll see:

1945 - Nazi occupation army leaves Northern Italy after a general partisan insurrection by the Italian resistance movement. This day is taken as symbol of Liberation of Italy.


A little drily put, maybe, that's what it is. (And all I've found on there. ;) ) And that is the reason why this morning I was in the War Cemetery here, near Assisi. I'd never been in there before, it's such a beautiful place - kind of a strange thing to say about a cemetery, isn't it? But it's really true. During the commemorative ceremony taking place there, several letters were read aloud - all letters written by prisoners sentenced to death for their activity in (or in favour of) the Resistance Movement, for their loved ones - parents, sons, daughter, spouses. There was one of them that struck me the most, so once I got home I tracked it down - and here it is. (In Italian, sorry about that. ^^; Haven't even got the time to contemplate translating it right now!)


Paolo Braccini - docente universitario - 36 anni

3-04-1944, Torino


Gianna, mia figlia adorata,

è la prima ed ultima lettera che ti scrivo e scrivo a te per prima, in queste ultime ore, perché so che seguito a vivere in te. Sarò fucilato all’alba, per un ideale, per una fede che tu, figlia mia, un giorno capirai appieno.


Non piangere mai per la mia mancanza, come non ho mai pianto io: il tuo babbo non morrà mai. Egli ti guaderà, ti proteggerà egualmente: ti vorrà sempre tutto l’infinito bene che ti vuole ora e che ti ha sempre voluto fin da quando ti sentì vivere nelle viscere di tua madre. So di non morire, anche perché la tua mamma sarà per anche il tuo babbo, quel tuo babbo al quale vuoi tanto ben, quel tuo babbo che vuoi tutto tuo, solo per te e del quale sei tanto gelosa. Riversa su tua madre tutto il bene che vuoi a lui; ella ti vorrà anche tutto il mio bene, ti curerà anche per me, ti coprirà dei miei baci e delle mie tenerezze.


Sapessi quante cose vorrei dirti, ma mentre scrivo il mio pensiero corre, galoppa nel tempo futuro che per te sarà, deve essere felice. Ma non importa che io ti dica tutto ora, te lo dirò sempre, di volta in volta, colla bocca di tua madre nel cui cuore entrerà la mia anima intera, quando lascerà il mio cuore. Tua madre resti per te sempre al di sopra di tutto. Vai sempre a fronte alta per la morte di tuo padre.


Ti benedico


Tuo babbo.



ETA: now with the English translation! Cor, but I had a serious Roland moment writing this.

Paolo Braccini - university teacher - 36 years old

3-04-1944, Turin


Gianna, my beloved daughter,

this is the first and last letter I'm writing you and I'm writing to you first, in these last hours, because I know I will keep on living in you. I will be shot at dawn, for a ideal, for a faith that you, my daughter, one day will understand in full.


Never cry for my abstence, just like I never cried myself: your dad will never die. He will watch over you and take care of you all the same: he will always love you as infinitely much as he does now and as he always has ever since he felt you living in your mother's womb. I know I won't die, also because your mom will be for you your dad as well, that dad you love so much, that dad you want all to yourself, just to yourself and that you're so jealous of. Pour on your mother all the love you have for him; she will give you all of my love, she will take care of you in my stead too, she will cover you with my kisses and my tenderness.


If only you knew how many things I want to tell you, but while I'm writing my mind runs, gallops in the future time that will, that has to be happy for you. But it's not important for me to say everything now, I will tell you always, time by time, with the mouth of your mother in whose heart my whole soul will enter, once it will have left my heart. Hold you mother above everything, at all times. Always walk with your head held high for the death of your father.


I bless you


Your dad.

on 2008-04-25 01:53 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] onehundredmoons.livejournal.com
Hey thanks for sharing this. Like most Italians who made the big hike over to the US, my family was already here by WWII, but my one grandmother had fled her small town during WWI under threat. They managed to stay around in Italy until 1920, but lost everything in the war.

Beautiful letter. *hugs*

on 2008-04-27 12:37 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] kasche.livejournal.com
You're welcome! I wasn't too sure about posting it, but then I went for it. Generally this kind of things don't really touch me much, but for this one it was different... maybe because it's a real letter, written by someone who was in that situation, I don't really know.

on 2008-04-25 02:03 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] reconditarmonia.livejournal.com
:`( :`( ma che bella lettera, e triste.

on 2008-04-27 12:41 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] kasche.livejournal.com
Grazie! Quella versione non l'avevo mai sentita! :D

on 2008-04-27 03:12 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] reconditarmonia.livejournal.com
Ne ho altre...hai sentito la versione dai Modena City Ramblers?

(È davvero una tragedia che nessuno negli Stati sa la significata di questo giorno. Neanche gli italoamericani, che strano, penserei che molti avessero dei parenti che combattarono.)

on 2008-04-27 12:38 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] kasche.livejournal.com
Vero? Mi ha colpito più di quel che mi sarei aspettata. :)

on 2008-04-25 02:07 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] neatokates.livejournal.com
It's amazing what an American education lacks. I've studied World War II/Fascism/Totalitarianism off and on for about the last four years at a college/graduate school level and I had no idea what today meant for Italy. I don't know if I'm more embarrassed as a historian or as someone of Italian descent. I'm very much looking forward to your translations and I'll most likely be thinking of this today. :)

(I decided not to buy user time, so I apologize for my lack of somber icons!)

on 2008-04-27 12:51 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] kasche.livejournal.com
Oh dear, too many people for comfort around here are beginning to forget/don't care about it, either. Like, "why is today a holiday again?" And it's a running joke (if you can call it a joke), between those of us who are more left-winged than others, that this might be the last year we get to celebrate it. :P

Now that I think of it, have you ever seen Roma città aperta (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038890/)? It's a beautiful movie set in that period, with a great Anna Magnani. :) Give it a try, if you get the chance. ;)

(Oh, no need to worry about the icon ;D I've had several of those situations myself, I understand! :P)


P.s.: (Sorry for all the notices)I forgot - I've added a translation! I think it might work? I tried to keep close to the original tone without making it sound too stilted, but it's not as easy as I'd thought :P
Edited on 2008-04-27 12:57 pm (UTC)

on 2008-04-27 12:51 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] kasche.livejournal.com
*hugs back*

on 2008-04-25 07:28 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] brumeux77.livejournal.com
Well, I got as far as "scrivo a te", but my only language other than English is French, so I'll be content with that.

on 2008-04-27 12:58 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] kasche.livejournal.com
Hehehe! ;) I've added a tentative translation. :D

on 2008-04-25 08:44 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] paddo.livejournal.com
Sarò fucilato all’alba, per un ideale, per una fede che tu, figlia mia, un giorno capirai appieno.
Vai sempre a fronte alta per la morte di tuo padre.

Capisco perché questa lettera ti abbia toccata particolarmente... l'ho letta due volte di fila e ho un groppo in gola che non riesce ad andare giù.

on 2008-04-27 01:04 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] kasche.livejournal.com
Ma davvero! Mi ci sono quasi stupita, che in genere cose con questo tono non mi toccano mai più di tanto... probabilmente è la sincerità che si sente tra le righe ad avermi preso. Non ho potuto fare a meno di immedesimarmi un pochino ^^; C'ero anch'io tra quelle che dovevano leggere quei testi ad alta voce - questa era quella che volevo, ma alla fine Simone ha preferito che fosse un padre a leggerla. XD

on 2008-04-27 04:27 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] jou.livejournal.com
Ahhhh, I just noticed that you posted the english translation! Oh gosh, what a beautiful letter! ;_; Thanks for posting/translating!

on 2008-04-27 01:05 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] kasche.livejournal.com
Oh! So it's good? It works? Translating from Italian to English is always harder than the other way around, I wasn't too awfully sure of it. :P

on 2008-04-27 05:20 am (UTC)
ext_35159: Mariposaluna (Default)
Posted by [identity profile] mariposaluna.livejournal.com
I want to thank you also for posting the English translation. That is one of the sweetest things I've ever read. You could just feel the love for his daughter pouring off the letter, even after all this time. Its truly amazing. Thank you.

on 2008-04-27 01:23 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] kasche.livejournal.com
Oh, you're very very welcome! I'm glad you liked it, and that the feeling of the original letter came through. I tried what I could, but I'm hardly an expert. :)

It really is so touching, isn't it? As I read it the first time, I couldn't help identifying myself with it a little. :)

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