Giuseppina Tuissi, better known as Gianna (also ''La Staffetta Gianna''; 23 June 1923 – 23 June 1945) was an Italian communist and partisan 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 ...

. She was part of the 52nd Brigata Garibaldi "Luigi Clerici". From September 1944, she was a collaborator of the partisan Luigi Canali (known as the captain ''Neri'') and, with him, had an important role in the arrest and the execution of Benito Mussolini and

Clara Petacci Clara Petacci, known as Claretta Petacci (; 28 February 1912 – 28 April 1945), was a mistress of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. She was killed during Mussolini's execution by Italian partisans. Early life Daughter of Giuseppina Persic ...

.An article about the death of Mussolini
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Early life

Giuseppina was born in 1923 in

Abbiategrasso Abbiategrasso, formerly written Abbiate Grasso. (local lmo, Biegrass ; lmo, label= Milanese, Biaa ), is a ''comune'' and town in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy, situated in the Po valley approximately from Milan and ...

, in the

Province of Milan The Province of Milan ( it, Provincia di Milano) was a province in the Lombardy region, Italy. Its capital was the city of Milan. The area of the former province is highly urbanized, with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km2, the third highest populat ...

. She lived and worked as

laborer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

in Baggio, a Milan suburb.

Partisan

In 1943, she started serving as a partisan courier, using the pseudonym "Gianna". On 6 January 1945 she was arrested with Canali in

Lezzeno Lezzeno (Comasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northeast of Como. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,088 and an area of .All demogra ...

by the members of the XI Black Brigade "Cesare Rodini" and tortured for 23 days. After this period, she was transferred to SS headquarters in Monza by a

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

officer, Captain Vernig, who pitied her condition and was impressed by her bravery. On March 12, she was released. Refusing an escape route to Switzerland, she continued participating in the partisan struggle in northern Lombardy. She and Neri were present during the arrest of Mussolini and Petacci, on 27 April near Dongo; and to their execution, the day after, in

Giulino Giulino (also known as Giulino di Mezzegra) is an Italian ''frazione'' of the ''Comune'' of Mezzegra, in the province of Como. Since 21 January 2014 both Giulino and Mezzegra are included in the comune of Tremezzina. History Early history The ...

. She was suspected of betrayal and to have revealed names of partisans during her detention. She was arrested in Baggio on April 29 and detained until May 9. She was interrogated by Pietro Vergani, regional commander of the

Garibaldi Brigades The ''Brigate Garibaldi'' or Garibaldi Brigades were partisan units aligned with the Italian Communist Party active in the armed resistance against both German and Italian fascist forces during World War II. The Brigades were mostly made up of ...

and PCI member. At the end of May 1945. she went to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

with Luigi's sister Alice Canali, to learn more about his death. Despite threats, she continued to ask questions, threatening to reveal what she learned. In June, she met Ferruccio Lanfranchi, editor of the ''Corriere d'Informazione'', that investigated Mussolini's death. Feeling abandoned by her comrades, she disappeared on 23 June 1945, on her 22nd birthday. It is presumed she was killed and her body thrown into Lake Como near

Cernobbio Cernobbio (Comasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Como, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is located about north of Milan and about northwest of Como, on the border with Switzerland and near the Lake Como. The highest peak is t ...

. Her death and those of Neri and other partisans in the late spring of 1945, represent an unresolved mystery of the Italian resistance history. In 1957 Dante Gorreri, PCI secretary of

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

, and Pietro Vergani, were charged for the murder as instigators; Dionisio Gambaruto and Maurizio Bernasconi as executors. The trial, held in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, did not complete because of a series of procedural impediments.

Literature

*Fabio Andriola: "''Appuntamento sul lago''".

, SugarCo, 1996. *Giorgio Cavalleri: "''Ombre sul Lago''"

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

, Arterigere

995 Year 995 ( CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gain ...

2007. *Giorgio Cavalleri and Franco Giannantoni: "''«Gianna» e «Neri» fra speculazioni e silenzi''". Varese, Arterigere, 2002 *Roberto Festorazzi: "''I veleni di Dongo ovvero gli spettri della Resistenza''". il Minotauro, 2004. * Luciano Garibaldi: "''La pista inglese. Chi uccise Mussolini e la Petacci?''". Ares, 2002. *Franco Giannantoni: "''«Gianna» e «Neri»: vita e morte di due partigiani comunisti''". Milan, Mursia, 1992. *Franco Giannantoni: "''L'ombra degli americani sulla Resistenza al confine tra Italia e Svizzera''". Varese, Arterigere, 2007. *

Urbano Lazzaro Urbano Lazzaro (November 4, 1924 – January 3, 2006) was an Italian resistance fighter who played an important role in capturing Benito Mussolini near the end of World War II. Lazzaro was born in Quinto Vicentino in the Veneto region. As ...

: "''Dongo: mezzo secolo di menzogne''". Milan,

Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...

, 1993. *Vittorio Roncacci: "''La calma apparente del lago. Como e il Comasco tra guerra e guerra civile 1940-1945''". Varese, Macchione, 2003.

References

External links

''The last minute of Gianna'' at antiwarsongs.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuissi, Giuseppina 1923 births 1945 deaths People from Abbiategrasso Italian resistance movement members Italian communists