Emilio Lussu (4 December 1890 – 5 March 1975) was a Sardinian and Italian writer,

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 were op ...

intellectual, military officer,

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

, and politician. He is also the author of the novel ''

One Year on the High Plateau ''One Year on the High Plateau'' (original title: ''Un anno sull'Altipiano'') is a historical novel by Emilio Lussu: set on the Asiago plateau. It is one of the major works of Italian literature on the First World War. The novel was written in 1 ...

''. Lussu was elected multiple times to Parliament, serving as a member of the

Constituent Assembly of Italy The Italian Constituent Assembly ( Italian: ''Assemblea Costituente della Repubblica Italiana'') was a parliamentary chamber which existed in Italy from 25 June 1946 until 31 January 1948. It was tasked with writing a constitution for the Ital ...

for the constituency of

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

and twice as a minister. He founded the

Sardinian Action Party The Sardinian Action Party (, , PSd'Az or PSdA) is a Sardinian nationalism, Sardinian nationalist, Regionalism (politics), regionalist and Separatism, separatist list of political parties in Sardinia, political party in Sardinia founded by Sardin ...

and co-founded the

Justice and Freedom In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes'' of Justinian, a ...

movement. As an anti-fascist, he was assaulted, wounded, and sent to confinement to Lipari in the

Aeolian Islands The Aeolian Islands ( ; ; ), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after Aeolus, the mythical ruler of ...

by the

Italian fascist Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

regime as a direct decision of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

. After escaping, with

Carlo Rosselli Carlo Alberto Rosselli (16 November 18999 June 1937) was an Italian political leader, journalist, historian, philosopher and anti-fascist activist, first in Italy and then abroad. He developed a theory of reformist, non-Marxist socialism inspir ...

and Fausto Nitti, he spent about fourteen years as a refugee abroad. He served as an officer in World War I, where he received multiple decorations, and participated in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

as a political leader and in the Italian Resistance.

Biography

The soldier

Lussu was born in

Armungia Armungia, Armùngia in sardinian language, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari. Armungia borders the following municipalities: Ballao, San Nicolò ...

province of Cagliari The province of Cagliari (; ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital city was Cagliari. It had an area of , and a total population of 543,310 (2001). There were 71 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in the provinc ...

(

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

) and graduated with a degree in law in 1914. Lussu married Joyce Salvadori, a notable poet, and member of the noble Paleotti family of the

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

, who were counts of

Fermo Fermo (; ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest huma ...

. Prior to the entry of Italy into

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Lussu joined the army and was involved in several skirmishes. As a complementary officer of the ''Sassari'' Infantry Brigade in 1916 he was stationed on the

Asiago Plateau Asiago (; Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) with the title of ciin the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' or '' Sette Comuni, Altopiano dei Se ...

. The brigade had arrived on the plateau in May 1916 to help in the Italian effort to stop the Austrian Spring offensive. In the month of June 1916 the brigade conquered

Monte Fior Monte Fior is a mountain of Veneto, Italy. It is located on the Asiago Plateau, in the Vicentine Alps, and has an elevation of . Monte Fior is the highest peak of the Melette group, in the Province of Vicenza. Along with the rest of the group, i ...

, Monte Castelgomberto,

Monte Spil Melette is a mountain massif in the Veneto region in Northern Italy. Located in the central-eastern part of the Sette Comuni plateau, its highest peak is 1,824 metres. The main summits of the massif are: * Monte Fior Monte Fior is a mountai ...

, Monte Miela and Monte Zebio. After the war Lussu published the novel "

" (''Un anno sull'altipiano'') about his experiences of

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

on the Asiago Plateau. The 1970 movie ''

Many Wars Ago ''Many Wars Ago'' (; ) is a 1970 anti-war film set on the Alpine Front of the First World War. Directed, produced, and co-written by Francesco Rosi, the film is based on Emilio Lussu's memoir ''Un anno sull'altipiano'' ('One year on the plateau ...

'' ("Uomini contro") by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. His film '' The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, of ...

is based on this book.

Politics and exile

After the war Lussu, together with Camillo Bellieni, founded the ''Partidu Sardu''-''Partito Sardo d'Azione'' (

), that blended social-democratic values and

Sardinian nationalism Sardinian nationalism or also Sardism (''Sardismu'' in Sardinian; ''Sardismo'' in Italian) is a social, cultural and political movement in Sardinia calling for the self-determination of the Sardinian people in a context of national devolution ...

. The party took a formal position in 1921, opposing the increasing power of the

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

movement. Lussu was elected to the Italian parliament in 1921 and, in 1924 was among the Aventine secessionists who withdrew from the Italian Parliament after the murder of

Giacomo Matteotti Giacomo Matteotti (; 22 May 1885 – 10 June 1924) was an Italian socialist politician and secretary of the Unitary Socialist Party (PSU). He was elected deputy of the Chamber of Deputies three times, in 1919, 1921 and in 1924. On 30 May 19 ...

. Lussu's anti-Fascist position was, at the time, one of the most radical in Italy. Lussu was physically attacked and injured by unknown aggressors several times. In 1926, during one of these attacks (notably, the same day that

suffered an attack in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

), Lussu shot one of the '' squadristi (italian blackshirts)'', in self-defense. He was arrested and tried, being found non-guilty due to the right to self defense, only to be later sentenced (due to fascist political interference) to 5 years of confinement on the island of

Lipari Lipari (; ) is a ''comune'' including six of seven islands of the Aeolian Islands (Lipari, Vulcano, Panarea, Stromboli, Filicudi and Alicudi) and it is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, Southern Italy; it is ...

, within the

near the northern coast of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. In 1929 Lussu escaped from his confinement and reached Paris. There, together with

Gaetano Salvemini Gaetano Salvemini (; 8 September 1873 – 6 September 1957) was an Italian socialist and anti-fascist politician, historian, and writer. Born into a family of modest means, he became a historian of note whose work drew attention in Italy and ab ...

Riccardo Bauer Riccardo Bauer (6 January 1896 – 15 October 1982) was an Italian anti-fascist journalist and political figure. He was one of the early Italians who fought against Benito Mussolini's rule. Due to his activities Bauer was imprisoned for a long ti ...

, Ernesto Rossi and other anti-fascist refugees he founded ''

Giustizia e Libertà Giustizia e Libertà (; ) was an Italian anti-fascist resistance movement, active from 1929 to 1945.James D. Wilkinson (1981). ''The Intellectual Resistance Movement in Europe''. Harvard University Press. p. 224. The movement was cofounded by ...

'' (Justice and Freedom), an anti-Fascist movement that proposed revolutionary methods to upset the Italian Fascist Regime. While in exile, he came to be known as "Mister Mills". In 1938, Lussu's novel "

" (''Un anno sull'altipiano'') was published in Paris. This thinly fictional account tells of the lives of soldiers during World War I and the trench warfare they encountered.

underlines, with chill rationalism, how the irrationalities of warfare affected the common man. Gifted with a keen sense of observation and sharp logic, Lussu demonstrates how distant the real life of soldiers is from everyday activities. In a notable passage, he describes the silent terror in the moments preceding an attack, as he is forced to abandon the "safe" protective

trench A trench is a type of digging, excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale (landform), swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or trapping ...

for an external unknown, risky, undefined world: "All the machine-guns are waiting for us".

Return to Italy

Lussu took part in the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

in Spain. Between 1941 and 1942 he was the protagonist of the most important "episode" of the collaboration between British

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

and Italian antifascism in exile. He tried to get the clearance for an antifascist uprising in his home island of

, which the SOE supported at some stage but did not receive approval from the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. He returned to Italy after the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

of 1943 when joined the

Italian Resistance The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italy, Italian Resistance during World War II, resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic ...

and became the secretary of the

for southern Italy. He became the leader of the left wing of the party and later joined forces with the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...

(PSI). After World War II he served as the Minister for Post-War Assistance in the government of

Ferruccio Parri Ferruccio Parri (; 19 January 1890 – 8 December 1981) was an Italian partisan and anti-fascist politician who served as the 29th Prime Minister of Italy, and the first to be appointed after the end of World War II. During the war, he was also ...

and later as a minister without portfolio in

Alcide De Gasperi Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician and statesman who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 t ...

's government. In 1964 Lussu separated from the PSI, creating the

Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity The Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity (''Partito Socialista Italiano di Unità Proletaria'', PSIUP) was a political party in Italy, active from 1964 to 1972. History The PSIUP was formed on 12 January 1964 by a leftist section of ...

(PSIUP). Ideological differences with the political line of ''Partito Sardo d'Azione'' deepened and Lussu left Sardinia. Emilio Lussu died in Rome in 1975.

Works

Many political meanings have been drawn from Lussu's works, but his works are perhaps more important at a personal level. Morally and philosophically, Lussu's books reflect his need to repent, having been previously an ''interventista'' (favourable to entering the war) and a revolutionary (in ''Giustizia e Libertà''); his works soberly describe what war, in its cruellest moments, was like for him. The alteration of Lussu's opinion of war is quite apparent in the range of his works: first an ''interventista'', then the author of a manual for revolution, soon afterwards the author of a pacifist book, then again a revolutionary and a volunteer in the Spanish civil war. Anyway,

combines well the repulse of the war with the bravery of the fighter.

Giulio Angioni Giulio Angioni (28 October 1939 – 12 January 2017) was an Italian writer and anthropologist. Biography Angioni was a leading Italian anthropologist, professor at the University of Cagliari and fellow of St Antony's College of the University o ...

, ''Emilio Lussu e i sardi'', in ''Il dito alzato'', Sellerio, 2012 Lussu's consistency has been questioned and politics often invades evaluations of his works.

Bibliography

*''La catena'' (The Chain, 1929) *''Marcia su Roma e dintorni'' (''The March on Rome and Thereabouts'', 1932) *''Teoria dell'insurrezione'' ("Theory of Insurrection", 1936) *''Per l'Italia dall'esilio'' (''Road to Exile: The Story of a Sardinian Patriot'', 1938)
August 3, 1936 review in ''Time'' magazine
*''Un anno sull'altipiano'' ("''

''", '' Sassari Infantry Brigade'', 1938, ; "A Soldier on the Southern Front", ) *
Diplomazia clandestina
' (Clandestine Diplomacy, 1955) *''La clericalizzazione dello Stato e l'arcivescovo di Cagliari'' (The Clericalization of the State and the Archbishop of Cagliari, 1958) *''Il cinghiale del diavolo e altri scritti sulla Sardegna'' (''The devil´s boar and other writings on Sardinia,'' 1976) In the

Florestano Vancini Florestano Vancini (24 August 1926 – 18 September 2008) was an cinema of Italy, Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed over 20 films since 1960. His 1966 film ''Seasons of Our Love, Le stagioni del nostro amore'', starring Enr ...

's film

The Assassination of Matteotti ''The Assassination of Matteotti'' () is a 1973 Italian historical drama film directed by Florestano Vancini. The film tells the events that led to the tragic end of Giacomo Matteotti and to the establishment of the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini ...

(1973), Lussu is played by Giovanni Brusatori.

Electoral history

Honours and awards

Silver Medal of Military Valor The Silver Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, a silver medal. These were intended for j ...

(Col del rosso, January 28th 1918) * Valor militare silver medal BAR

(Campo d'argine, June 16th 1918) * Valor militare bronze medal BAR

Bronze Medal of military Valor The Bronze Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal for gallantry. It was established by Charles Albert of Sardinia on 26 March 1833, along with the higher ranking Gold Medal of Military Valor and Silver Medal of Military Valor, which were ...

(Altipiano di Asiago, July 1916) * Valor militare bronze medal BAR

(November 1916) * Croce di guerra al merito BAR

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross () was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...

Commemorative Italian-Austrian war medal BAR

Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915–1918 The Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915–1918 is a campaign medal that was awarded by the Kingdom of Italy for participation in World War I. History The medal was established by Royal Decree Of Victor Emmanuel III No. 1 241 of ...

Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy The Italian Risorgimento was celebrated by a series of medals set up by the three kings who ruled during the long process of unification – the Commemorative Medal for the Campaigns of the War of Independence and the various versions of the Com ...

Order of Vittorio Veneto The military Order of Vittorio Veneto () was an Italian order of chivalry that was founded as national order by the fifth President of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Saragat, in 1968, "to express the gratitude of the nation" to those decorated ...

Medaglia commemorativa italiana della vittoria

References

Sources

* Rossi, Umberto. (3 September 2005). "The Alcoholics of War: Experiencing Chemical and Ideological Drunkenness in Emilio Lussu's Un anno sull'altipiano", ''Mosaic'' 38:77–94. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lussu, Emilio 1890 births 1975 deaths People from the Metropolitan City of Cagliari Action Party (Italy) politicians Italian Socialist Party politicians Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity politicians Government ministers of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVI of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVII of the Kingdom of Italy Members of the National Council (Italy) Members of the Constituent Assembly of Italy Senators of Legislature I of Italy Senators of Legislature II of Italy Senators of Legislature III of Italy Senators of Legislature IV of Italy Politicians of Sardinia Sardinian nationalists Italian anti-fascists Members of Giustizia e Libertà Italian military personnel of World War I Sardinian literature 20th-century Italian novelists 20th-century Italian male writers Exiled Italian politicians Italian Aventinian secessionists