Igino Ghisellini (

Cento The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turk ...

, 20 July 1895 –

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, 13 November 1943) was an Italian

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

politician and soldier.

Biography

Ghisellini was born on 20 July 1895 in Buonacompra, a hamlet in the municipality of

, the son of Napoleone Ghisellini. He enlisted as a volunteer in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and in 1916 he was became an

Arditi Arditi (from the Italian verb ''ardire'', lit. "to dare", and translates as "The Daring nes) was the name adopted by a Royal Italian Army elite special force of World War I. They and the opposing German '' Stormtroopers'' were the first modern ...

officer, being wounded on 6 October of the same year. Having recovered from his injuries, he fought on in March 1917, on Monte Solarolo in June 1918 (during the Second Battle of Monte Grappa, being awarded a

Silver Medal of Military Valor The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, ...

) and in September 1918 in Val dei Pez, where he earned another Silver Medal. He was wounded again and returned to Cento on leave, but soon decided to leave the hospital where he had been convalescing to return to service; he participated in the

battle of Vittorio Veneto The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troops ...

in the XVIII Assault Unit, fighting on Col della Martina from 26 October 1918 and being wounded on Mount Pertica the next day. For this action he was awarded his third Silver Medal of Military Valor. In 1919 he was sent to

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, and after returning to Italy he joined the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...

(PNF) from 1921, together with his younger brothers Massimiliano and Bruno, taking part in the

March on Rome The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fa ...

the following year. This adhesion to the PNF from the beginning guaranteed him recognition as ''squadrista''. He graduated in

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

, and was elected town councilor in Cento from December 17, 1922. In 1929 he obtained a second degree in

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

, as well as becoming secretary of the PNF in the Casumaro district of Cento, where he lived and worked as a

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

. In 1936 he volunteered for the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

, where he was awarded two Bronze Medals of Military Valor (in November 1936 and March 1937), returning briefly to his homeland in 1937 and then departing again in 1938 to take part in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

alongside the nationalists as part of Italy's

Corpo Truppe Volontarie The Corps of Volunteer Troops ( it, Corpo Truppe Volontarie, CTV) was a Fascist Italian expeditionary force of military volunteers, which was sent to Spain to support the Nationalist forces under General Francisco Franco against the Spanish R ...

. In July 1941 Ghisellini joined the federal directorate of the National Fascist Party of Ferrara. With the rank of ''seniore'' (

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

) of the

Voluntary Militia for National Security The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Natio ...

(MVSN), Ghisellini took part in the

Second World War 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 ...

on the Yugoslav front, in the ranks of the LXXV Blackshirt Assault Battalion "Ferrara", and subsequently in

counter-guerrilla Counter-Guerrilla ( tr, Kontrgerilla) is the Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, a clandestine stay-behind anti-communist initiative backed by the United States as an expression of the Truman Doctrine. The founding goal of the operation was to ere ...

operations, fighting alongside the

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. In these clashes he lost a relative, Costantino Ghisellini, killed in an

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

in 1942; in the same year he was awarded a Bronze Medal of Military Valor for an action near

Križpolje Križpolje is a village in the Lika-Senj County, Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image ...

on 13 August. He returned to Italy in the summer of 1943. The day after 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 ...

, 9 September 1943, Ferrara was occupied by German troops. Subsequently, the prefect and the local Fascist leaders agreed to reopen the local section of the National Fascist Party, with the aim of promoting the newly established

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

. Igino Ghisellini was proposed by

Alessandro Pavolini Alessandro Pavolini (27 September 1903 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician, journalist, and essayist, notable for his involvement in the Fascist government, during World War II, and also for his cruelty against the opponents of fascism ...

as a federal secretary of the

Republican Fascist Party The Republican Fascist Party ( it, Partito Fascista Repubblicano, PFR) was a political party in Italy led by Benito Mussolini during the German occupation of Central and Northern Italy and was the sole legal and ruling party of the Italian Socia ...

of Ferrara, which would arise from the former PNF. Ghisellini officially assumed office on 21 September 1943, while also taking command of the reconstituted 75th MVSN Legion "Italo Balbo". He used to travel the stretch of road between Ferrara and Casumaro on a daily basis in the

Fiat 1100 The Fiat 1100 is a small family car produced from 1953 until 1969 by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. It was an all-new unibody replacement for the Fiat 1100 E, which descended from the pre-war, body-on-frame Fiat 508 C Balilla 1100. The 1100 was ...

made available to him by the PFR federation. Along this stretch of road, he was killed with six gunshots around 9 pm on November 13, 1943. His body was then left in

Castello d'Argile Castello d'Argile ( Northern Bolognese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about north of Bologna. Castello d'Argile borders the following municipalities: Argelato, C ...

, where he was found the next morning in a ditch along the road. Most sources credit the assassination to the

Gruppi di Azione Patriottica The Patriotic Action Groups (GAP), formed by the general command of the Garibaldi Brigades at the end of October 1943, were small groups of partisans that were born on the initiative of the Italian Communist Party to operate mainly in the city, ...

, but some historians have suggested instead that Ghisellini was murdered by enemies among his own Fascist comrades. To avenge his death, a punitive team was organized by Pavolini himself, led by prefect

Enrico Vezzalini Enrico Vezzalini (16 October 1904 – 23 September 1945) was an Italian Fascist politician and civil servant, prefect of the Province of Ferrara and later of Novara during the Italian Social Republic. Biography A lawyer, he joined the National ...

, Blackshirt colonel Giovanni Battista Riggio and PFR delegate for

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

Franz Pagliani, which reached Ferrara in the afternoon of 14 November. That same evening 74 citizens of Ferrara were arrested and eleven people,

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and anti-Fascists, were chosen among them and shot at dawn at the

Castello Estense The ' (‘ Este castle’) or ' (‘St. Michael's castle’) is a moated medieval castle in the center of Ferrara, northern Italy. It consists of a large block with four corner towers. History On 3 May 1385, the Ferrarese people, driven to des ...

on November 15, in what became known as the Ferrara massacre, depicted in the

Florestano Vancini Florestano Vancini (24 August 1926 – 18 September 2008) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed over 20 films since 1960. His 1966 film '' Le stagioni del nostro amore'', starring Enrico Maria Salerno, was entered into ...

film ''

Long Night in 1943 ''Long Night in '43'' (Italian: La Lunga Notte del '43) is an Italian film of 1960 set in Ferrara, in the Italian Social Republic German puppet state during the late stages of the Second World War. It was directed by Florestano Vancini and adapted ...

''. The Black Brigade of Ferrara was named after Ghisellini.Gianni Oliva in L'ombra nera - Le stragi nazifasciste che non ricordiamo più, p. 49

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghisellini, Igino 1895 births 1943 deaths People of the Italian Social Republic People executed by firearm Deaths by firearm in Italy Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War Italian military personnel of the Spanish Civil War Italian military personnel of World War II