European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

She was one of the leaders and had been in the party for years, together with her father, who had been in France, etc.

That famous Zanti who was shot at the Zucchi barracks.

The party had given her that duty; she was organized and already had contacts in Modena,

and she did move weapons around, together with my sister-in-law Iside Viani.

We went there and I found an agreement with her.

In the morning we went by my house, while nobody was there, because they were all meeting in a cattle-shed.

I picked up my bicycle and went back to San Bartolomeo, because I didn’t dare staying there, if somebody betrayed me.

So I left in the morning, I went to pick Zanti up and we went to Modena by bicycle.

She took me to Alfeo Corassoli,

where I met the famous lawyer Poppi,

and that’s when I started to be involved in the authentic partisan struggle.

I was like a sister to the partisans.

They all loved me and respected me.

It was amazing.

Staying with a family of peasants living in Saliceto San Giuliano, where I stayed 5 or 6 months, I felt like I was at home.

They didn’t even know where I was from.

They thought I was coming from the mountains near Bologna.

Only after the war did they find out that I came from Reggio.

Military actions

We had drawn together most of our forces in the lowlands around Reggio, around Limiti, Soliera, Carpi.