Filippo Illuminato (21 August 193028 September 1943) was an Italian partisan who died attacking

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

troops during the Four days of Naples in

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 opposin ...

. He was posthumously awarded the

Gold Medal of Military Valour 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 ...

, Italy's highest award for gallantry. On 3 September 1943, the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

signed the

Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...

. On 8 September, it became publicly known, and Nazi Germany reacted by attacking Italy, their former

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

ally. On 13 September, the Nazi military governor of Naples ordered disarmament, and a

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

, and threatened savage retaliation for any attack on his men. On 26 September, the city rose in insurrection (the Four days of Naples). When the Allies entered Naples on 1 October, the Nazis had gone. Illuminato came from a poor

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

family. After finishing elementary school, he took a job as an apprentice mechanic in a vehicle repair shop. His Gold Medal citation reads: An English translation: His name is commemorated in a street in Naples, ''Via Filippo Illuminato'', and in a high school in

Mugnano di Napoli Mugnano di Napoli is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 10 km northwest of Naples. Mugnano di Napoli borders the following municipalities: Calvizzano, Giugliano in Cam ...

, ''Scuola Filippo Illuminato''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Illuminato, Filippo 1930 births 1943 deaths People from Naples Italian partisans Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Italian civilians killed in World War II Child soldiers in World War II