Luciana Frassati Gawronska (18 August 1902 – 7 October 2007) was an Italian

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. Gawronska was a prominent anti-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

and anti-

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 ...

activist in both

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and was considered a champion of

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

causes.

Early life

Luciana Frassati was born on 18 August 1902 in

Pollone Pollone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about west of Biella. Pollone borders the following municipalities: Biella, Fontainemore, Lillianes, Occhieppo ...

, near the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Biella Biella (; pms, Biela; la, Bugella) is a city and ''comune'' in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of Turin an ...

. Her father, Alfredo Frassati, was the founder of the

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

based

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

, ''

La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...

'', a well-known, daily newspaper. Her mother,

Adélaïde Ametis Adélaïde Ametis or Adélaïde Ametis Frassati (17 February 1877 – 18 June 1949) was an Italian painter who had paintings commissioned by the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III. Life Ametis was born in Turin, Italy in 1877. On September 5, 1898 ...

, was a well known

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. Frassati's older brother was

Pier Giorgio Frassati Pier Giorgio Frassati (6 April 1901 – 4 July 1925) was an Italian Catholic activist and a member from the Third Order of Saint Dominic. He was dedicated to social justice issues and joined several charitable organizations, including Catholic Ac ...

, who died of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

in 1925. Her brother was formally

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

as "Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati" by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 20 May 1990. Frassati Gawronska later wrote a first hand account of her brother's life, ''A Man of the Beatitudes''. She campaigned throughout her life in the effort to elevate her brother to canonized

sainthood In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

, although this has not yet occurred. Frassati earned a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe and continues to play an impo ...

. She married Jan Gawroński in the spring of 1925. Gawronski was a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and secretary to the Polish ambassador to

and the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

at the time. Gawroński would later become the last Polish ambassador to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

before the country's

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

Nazi Germany 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 ...

in 1938. The couple had six children: Jas, Alfredo, Wanda, Giovanna, Maria Grazia and Nella. Her son,

Jas Gawronski Jas Gawronski (born 7 February 1936) is an Italian journalist and politician. He was a member of the European Parliament for North-West with Forza Italia, member of the Bureau of the European People's Party, and sits on the European Parliament ...

, is currently an Italian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and former

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

World War II

Luciana lived in a number of European countries with her husband, including

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, and

. The couple moved to Austria in 1933, just as

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

was taking power in neighboring Germany. Jan Gawronski became the last ambassador of Poland to Austria before Austria's annexation by

in the 1938

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

. Luciana and her family moved to

Warsaw, Poland Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-cen ...

, after the annexation of Austria. They lived in the city until the invasion and

fall of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

to the Germans in 1939. The Germans immediately began to round up Polish officials, intellectuals and others. Luciana's Italian citizenship (Italy was then ruled by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

, an ally of Hitler), and her relationship with prominent figures throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, afforded the family some protection from the Nazis. Frassati Gawronska acted to help Poland during World War II. With her Italian

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

, which allowed her to move freely between Poland and Italy, she made seven separate trips throughout Europe's German Nazi held territories during the war, including to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Frassati Gawronska managed to smuggle rescued artwork and documents linking the Nazis to atrocities out of Poland at great personal risk. She also distributed money to the Polish resistance. She also managed to rescue and move Polish families out of the country. Many, including entire families, were sent to relative safety in Italy. Among those rescued by Luciana Frassati Gawronska were Olga Helena Zubrzewska, wife of Gen.

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish ...

, a major political figure and one of the leaders of the Polish resistance. Through her influence she also managed to secure the release of more than one hundred professors of the

University of Krakow The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

Honors

Luciana Frassati Gawronska received the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident ab ...

from the Polish government in 1993 for her service to the country. She was also named an admired woman of Poland in the 1 March 2003 issue of '' Wysokie Obcasy'', joining other Polish and international figures.

Death

Luciana Frassati Gawronska died on 7 October 2007, at the age of 105 at her home in

. Her funeral was held on 9 October 2007 at the

Turin Cathedral la, Ecclesia Sancti Johannis Baptista , native_name = Duomo di Torino , native_name_lang = Italian , image = DuomoTorino.jpg , caption = The Cathedral in 2019 , imagelink = , pushpin map = Italy Turin , pushpin mapsize = , map caption = ...

. She was buried in her family's tomb in the space once occupied by the coffin of her brother, Blessed

, whose remains have since been moved to the Turin Cathedral.

References

External links

Luciana Frassati Gawronska obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frassati Gawronska, Luciana 1902 births 2007 deaths Italian centenarians Italian people of World War II Italian Roman Catholics Italian women writers Polish resistance members of World War II University of Turin alumni Roman Catholic activists Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland People from Biella Polish women in war Women centenarians Italian emigrants to Poland 20th-century Italian women