European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

We had to find a way to farm the land.

Many women, even among our neighbours, had gone to work in the factories,

taking advantage of the wartime industry. You have to imagine that men were at war

while women were left at home to look after the children and take care of the family.

We were very happy and felt like being born again.

With two of my friends, those in the picture, we took an old flag. I don’t know where we found it, but we left on our bicycles.

I was in the middle while they were on the sides, and we set off a parade in the country roads.

Everybody was in the streets, so the parade grew more and more.

From Castellazzo to Reggio it is seven or eight km.

A whole group of youths – since the older ones were at war – rode their bicycles all the way to the city.

Mussolini’s writings were everywhere:

“Credere, obbedire, combattere” (Believe, obey, fight);

“L’aratro traccia il solco e la spada lo difende” (The plough cuts furrows, the sword protects them).

Some boys managed to find paint and went up the ladders to cover them.

They also tried to pull down some of the monuments, the fasces or Mussolini’s busts.

Confusion was rather high at that moment.

The situation seemed to turn more complex, since we still had a King.

Then September 8th 1943 arrived.

That day we didn’t listen to the radio, since nobody had one.

But the news moved fast, on our bicycles.