Sabatino Enrico 'Nello' Rosselli (Rome, 29 November 1900 – Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, 9 June 1937) was an Italian

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

leader and historian.

Biography

Rosselli was born 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 ...

to a prominent Jewish family. His parents were Giuseppe Emanuele "Joe" Rosselli (1867 - 1911) and Amelia Pincherle (1870 - 1954), who was the paternal aunt to writer Alberto Moravia. Nello was the youngest of three sons, the others being Aldo Sabatino (1895 - 1916), died in World War I and

Carlo Alberto Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independence ...

(1899–1937). Nello was a member of the reformist Unitary Socialist Party of Filippo Turati, Giacomo Matteotti and Claudio Treves, which had split from the PSI. After the rise of

Fascism 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 t ...

, he fled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

with his brother, and became active there in

anti-Fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...

and

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

politics, helping to found the group Giustizia e Libertà and aiding the Republicans 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 Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, as well as carrying out propaganda missions within Italy.

Murder

In June 1937, Nello went to visit his brother, Carlo, at the French resort town of Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, Orne. On 9 June, the two were killed by a group of ''cagoulards'', militants of the Cagoule, a French fascist group, with archival documents implicating Mussolini's regime in authorizing the murder.Peter Isaac Rose (2005). ''The Dispossessed: An Anatomy Of Exile''. University of Massachusetts Press, pp. 138–139. The two brothers were buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, but in 1951 the family moved them to Italy into the Monumental Cemetery of Trespiano, a

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a '' comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate terri ...

of Florence. His wife Maria Todesco, their four children Silvia, Paola, Aldo and Alberto, and his mother Amelia Pincherle Rosselli survived him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosselli, Nello 1900 births 1937 deaths Politicians from Rome Jewish Italian politicians Italian anti-fascists Assassinated Italian people Italian people murdered abroad Deaths by stabbing in France Unitary Socialist Party (Italy, 1922) politicians Members of Giustizia e Libertà 20th-century Italian politicians Terrorism deaths in France Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Jewish anti-fascists Exiled Italian politicians Italian people of the Spanish Civil War Italian social liberals 20th-century Italian Jews Jewish socialists People murdered in France Assassinated activists Italian Anti-Francoists