Aldo Gastaldi (

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, 17 September 1921 –

Bardolino Bardolino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about northwest of Verona. Geography Located on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, Bardolino borders the followin ...

, 21 May 1945) was an

Italian Resistance The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Socia ...

leader during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Biography

Gastaldi was born in the Granarolo district of Genoa on September 17, 1921. A passionate hiker and hunter, at the age of 13 he hiked alone to the summit of

Monte Antola Monte Antola (in Ligurian ''munte Antua'') is a mountain in Liguria, northern Italy, part of the Ligurian Apennines. Geography The mountain is located between the provinces of Genoa and Alessandria. It lies at an altitude of 1597 metres.' ...

with a 12-hour walk. In his youth he played in the

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

team of his high school and was a

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

in the Società Canottieri Genovesi Elpis. After graduating from the Galileo Galilei Institute in Genoa, he worked at Ansaldo in

Sestri Ponente Sestri Ponente is an industrial suburb of Genoa in northwest Italy. It is part of the Medio Ponente ''municipio'' of Genoa. Geography It is situated on the Ligurian Sea four miles to the west of the city, between Pegli and Cornigliano. Its ...

and studied

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

at the

University of Genoa The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...

. During

he was called up for military service at age twenty, assigned to the 15th Engineers Regiment with the rank of second lieutenant and stationed in

Chiavari Chiavari (; lij, Ciävai ) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the river Entella. History Pre-Roman and Roman Era A pre-Roman necropolis, which dates ...

as a radio operator. On 25 July 1943, while on public order service with his platoon on the day of the fall of the Fascist regime, he destroyed the symbols of the

Casa del Fascio A ''casa del Fascio'', ''casa Littoria'', or ''casa del Littorio'' () was a building housing the local branch of the National Fascist Party and later the Republican Fascist Party under the regime of Italian Fascism, in Italy and its colonies. ...

in Chiavari. After the Armistice of Cassibile he hid his weapons from the Germans near the

Chiavari Castle Chiavari (; lij, Ciävai ) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is situated near the river Entella. History Pre-Roman and Roman Era A pre-Roman necropolis, which dates fr ...

, and in the following weeks he was contacted by members of the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) ...

(despite him being a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

), who proposed him to create a partisan group. Thus, in the winter of 1943 the first nucleus of what would become the "Cichero" Partisan Division was born in the mountains around Genoa; Gastaldi, with '' nom de guerre'' "Bisagno", became one of its leaders, leading successful raids on German and Fascist garrisons and sabotage actions on Axis fortifications. In November 1944 he managed to persuade an entire battalion of the 4th Alpine Division "Monterosa", the "Vestone", to defect to the Resistance. Monumento di Bisagno a Fascia

A fervent Catholic and firmly nonpartisan, Gastaldi, together with the Communist Giovanni Serbandini, established strict rules of behavior for the men of the Division, known as the "Cichero Code", which all members swore to follow: "During actions and operations the orders of the commanders are to be followed, there will always be an assembly to discuss their conduct; the leader is elected by his companions, he is the first in the most dangerous actions, the last in receiving food and clothing, he has the most tiring guard shift; the peasant population is asked, not forced to give, and possibly paid or reciprocated for what is received; women are not bothered; no blasphemy is allowed". He always opposed the politicization of the Division and of partisan formations, which he saw as divisive and weakening the unity of the partisan struggle against the Germans and Fascists. He died on May 21, 1945, falling from the roof of the cabin of a truck near

, on the Veronese shore of

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label= Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

, while he was accompanying home some former Alpini of the "Vestone" Battalion, to keep the promise he had made to them in November 1944. He was posthumously awarded the

Gold Medal of Military Valor The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...

. In 2019 he was proclaimed a Servant of God.Servo di Dio Aldo Gastaldi
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gastaldi, Aldo 1921 births 1945 deaths Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Italian resistance movement members Italian partisans Accidental deaths from falls