Luciano Gottardi (

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 ...

, 18 February 1899 –

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

, 11 January 1944) 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 trade unionist.

Biography

The son of a small farmer, he participated 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 ...

initially as a private in the telegraph troops of the

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

and later as a cavalry

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. After the war he enrolled in the faculty of economic and commercial sciences of the University of Trieste, but was unable to complete his studies. He joined the

Fascist movement 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 ...

in 1920, participating in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

in the protests against the Italian Army’s intervention against the Regency of Carnaro (during which he was slightly wounded and arrested), and later 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 ...

. After the establishment of the

Fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, during the 1920s and 1930s, he held a number of offices within

Fascist trade unions Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and ...

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

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 ...

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, 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 ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

and Caltanissetta. This sometimes brought him into conflict with the employers, which he accused of being excessively greedy and opportunistic; a report by an informant of the Fascist political police described him as "an old fascist of faith. Too passionate. He has trouble in adapting to collaboration with employers. Fascist syndicalism, rather than directing him towards corporatism, tends to bring him to

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

. Morally alright. Good orator". In 1939 he became a member of the

Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Chamber of Fasces and Corporations ( it, Camera dei Fasci e delle Corporazioni) was the lower house of the legislature of the Kingdom of Italy from 23 March 1939 to 5 August 1943, during the height of the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fas ...

, and in 1942 he was appointed president of the Carbonsarda mining company, but he resigned due to conflicts with the Azienda Carboni Italiani, the state company that controlled the coal mining industry in Italy. In May 1943 he became president of the Confederation of Industrial Workers, which gave him a seat by right in the Grand Council of Fascism. He thus participated in the meeting of the Grand Council on 25 July 1943, voting in favor of the

order of the day To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

that resulted in the downfall of the regime (he would later have motivated this choice by explaining that he intended "to relieve the Duce of many responsibilities" and that he "had the clear impression that there was a split between the Party, the people, and the army, and that the morale of the nation was shaken. Since it emerged from the Duce's own account at the Grand Council that the army did not want to fight, I thought that, if the Crown took a direct part in the fortunes of the war, perhaps the army would be able to recover"). On 16 August 1943 he was dismissed from his post at the head of the Confederation of Industrial Workers by the Badoglio government. 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 ...

, in September 1943, he remained in

and asked to be able to join 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 ...

, accompanying the request with a long letter to secretary Alessandro Pavolini, in which he claimed to have repented and recalled his fascist merits. Despite his belated "repentance", in early October 1943 he was arrested by the

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 ...

and locked up in

Regina Coeli prison Regina Coeli (; it, Carcere di Regina Coeli ) is the best known prison in the city of Rome. Previously a Catholic convent (hence the name), it was built in 1654 in the rione of Trastevere. It started to serve as a prison in 1881. The constructi ...

- the first of the "traitors of 25 July" to be captured. He was later transferred to the

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 ...

prison, tried and sentenced to death for treason at the Verona trial together with Galeazzo Ciano,

Emilio De Bono Emilio De Bono (19 March 1866 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian general, fascist activist, marshal, and member of the Fascist Grand Council (''Gran Consiglio del Fascismo''). De Bono fought in the Italo-Turkish War, the First World War and the ...

Carlo Pareschi Carlo Pareschi (19 August 1898 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian Fascist politician, member of the Grand Council of Fascism and minister of agriculture of the Kingdom of Italy from 1941 to 1943. Biography A renowned agronomist, he fought i ...

and

Giovanni Marinelli Giovanni Marinelli (18 October 1879 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian Fascist political leader. Marinelli was born in Adria, Veneto. A wealthy man, he contributed to Fascist success by financing the March on Rome. As secretary of the National ...

; together with them he was executed by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

in the morning of 11 January 1944. Throughout the trial and in front of the firing squad, Gottardi maintained a serene and courageous demeanor; just before the order to fire was given, he rose from the chair he had been tied to, gave the Fascist salute and shouted, "Long live the Duce, long live Italy!".Enciclopedia Treccani
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottardi, Luciano 1899 births 1944 deaths Italian fascists Italian trade unionists Executed politicians People executed by Italy by firing squad People executed by the Italian Social Republic Executed Italian people Fascist trade unions Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations it:Luciano Gottardi