Sabato Martelli Castaldi (19 August 1896 – 24 March 1944) was an Italian

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

general and a member of the

Italian Resistance The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

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 opposin ...

. He was executed during the

Ardeatine massacre The Ardeatine massacre, or Fosse Ardeatine massacre ( it, Eccidio delle Fosse Ardeatine), was a mass killing of 335 civilians and political prisoners carried out in Rome on 24 March 1944 by German occupation troops during the Second World War ...

Biography

He participated 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 ...

, initially as an artillery

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and later in the Army Air Corps; from 23 April 1918 he was a pilot in the 4th SVA Section, based in

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

Vedelago Vedelago ( vec, Vedeàgo) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice, about east of Vicenza, about north of Padua and about west of Treviso. The main attraction is ...

, which from 20 October became the 56th Squadron, earning a

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and two Bronze Medals of Military Valor. After the war, he graduated in

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...

at the Polytechnic of Turin. From 1919 to 1921 he served in the Army Air Corps in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

, participating in operations against the

Senussi The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi ( ar, السنوسية ''as-Sanūssiyya'') are a Muslim political-religious tariqa (Sufi order) and clan in colonial Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi ( ar, السنوسي ...

rebels, after which he returned to Italy; he played an important role in the creation of the

Regia Aeronautica The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...

, which he joined immediately after its establishment in 1923. In the same period, he also 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 ...

. In 1931, with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, he became chief of staff of Air Marshal

Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa. Due to his young a ...

, Minister of the Air Force, participating in the

Decennial Air Cruise The Decennial Air Cruise ( it, Crociera aerea del Decennale) was a mass transatlantic flight from Orbetello, Italy, to the Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. The expedition, organized by the Italian Regia Aeronautica ...

and being entrusted the rapports between Balbo and

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 ...

. In 1933, at only thirty-six years of age, he was promoted to air brigadier general (equivalent to air commodore), becoming the youngest general in the Italian Air Force. After Balbo's replacement with General Giuseppe Valle, however, he soon fell out of favour, like other officers closely linked with Balbo, whose relationship with Mussolini had become strained. In November 1935 he was forcibly discharged from active service "for lack of judgment", after reporting some

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

issues within the Air Force and writing a report to Mussolini about the deficiencies within the Air Force under the leadership of Valle. Returning to civilian life, he was persecuted by the

OVRA The OVRA, whose most probable name was Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism ( it, Organizzazione per la Vigilanza e la Repressione dell'Antifascismo), was the secret police of the Kingdom of Italy, founded in 1927 under the ...

and unable to find a job in Italy, thus being forced to migrate to

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Seco ...

. He later returned to Italy, where he was hired by the Stacchini powder factory in

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 ...

along with his lifelong friend Roberto Lordi, who had fought beside him during World War I and who had also become a general in the Regia Aeronautica until being likewise forced to resign in 1935. 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 the morning of 9 September 1943 Martelli Castaldi and another two officers reached the

Quirinale Palace The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano ...

in order to inform King

Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

of their wish to organize the defence of Rome against the invading Germans, but found that the king and the government had fled the city. On the following day, Martelli Castaldi and Lordi were among the civilians who joined the troops battling the Germans near

Porta San Paolo The Porta San Paolo (English: Saint Paul Gate) is one of the southern gates in the 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. The Via Ostiense Museum (') is housed within the gatehouse. It is in the Ostiense quarter; just to the west is the Roma ...

, rushing into combat armed with

hunting rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with bo ...

s. After the German occupation of the capital, both generals joined the

Clandestine Military Front The Clandestine Military Front (Italian: Fronte Militare Clandestino) was an organization of the Italian Resistance that operated in German-occupied Rome between September 1943 and June 1944. It consisted of some 2,300 men, largely Army officers wh ...

; Martelli Castaldi established contact with the Allies, distributed explosives to the partisans and organized armed groups. He was suggested by several members of the Front as a possible leader, but Giuseppe Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo was chosen instead. On 17 January 1944 the SS, having discovered Martelli Castaldi's and Lordi's Resistance activities but having been unable to find them, arrested their employer, Ernesto Stacchini; the two generals then turned themselves in, in exchange for his release. They were imprisoned in the SS prison in Via Tasso and tortured for over a month and then executed in the

Fosse Ardeatine massacre The Ardeatine massacre, or Fosse Ardeatine massacre ( it, Eccidio delle Fosse Ardeatine), was a mass killing of 335 civilians and political prisoners carried out in Rome on 24 March 1944 by German occupation troops during the Second World War ...

on 24 March 1944. Before his execution, Martelli Castaldi wrote a last message in the wall of his cell, which he shared with

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

Lieutenant Colonel Giovanni Frignani: "When your body will no longer be, your spirit will be even more alive in the memory of those who remain. Let it may always be an example". He was posthumously awarded the

Gold Medal of Military Valor 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 ...

.Nino Arena, La regia aeronautica (1943-1946), p. 129

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martelli Castaldi, Sabato 1896 births 1944 deaths Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Italian generals Italian Air Force generals Executed Italian fascists Executed military leaders Fosse Ardeatine massacre victims