Maria Pasquinelli (16 March 1913 – 3 July 2013) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

teacher and member 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 ...

party convicted for the killing of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Robert de Winton in Pola on 10 February 1947. She carried out the assassination in protest of the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus.

Biography

Maria Pasquinelli was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

on 16 March 1913. As a teenager, she was a member of the Italian Fascist Party. She served as a nurse in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1942 Pasquinelli went to work as an

teacher in Spalato,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, where she denounced the killings of Italian civilians in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

and

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

that occurred between 1943 and 1945, most of them perpetrated by

Yugoslav partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

. The attempts of Pasquinelli to raise the Italian population in self-defence led to her arrest by German occupation troops. In early 1945 she tried unsuccessfully to unite all the Italians of Istria – both fascist soldiers, as well as

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

partisans – against the annexation of Istria by the

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

ns under the leadership of

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

Killing of Brigadier Robert de Winton

On 10 February 1947, in protest against the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus, Pasquinelli went to the Istrian city of Pola, where she shot and killed the commander of the British garrison in the area, Brigadier Robert de Winton. The Brigadier was in the process of reviewing his troops when he was hit by three shots in his back that killed him instantly. One British soldier was wounded by a stray bullet. As Allied supreme commander in Istria, de Winton was about to transfer power to Yugoslav authorities. Pasquinelli was sentenced to death by a British military court at

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

in 1947. However, her life was spared and she was handed over to the new Italian republican government, on the promise that she would serve life imprisonment. She was in jail for 17 years following the assassination, and upon her release by

presidential pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

in 1964. Pasquinelli lived in

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

, where she remained until her death at age 100."Dal'pantano d'Italia é nato un fiore: Maria Pasquinelli"
(4 April 2013)

References

Bibliography

* Petacco, Arrigo. ''L'Esodo, La tragedia negata degli italiani d'Istria, Dalmazia e Venezia Giulia''. Mondadori Editore. Milano, 1999 * Zecchi, Stefano. ''Maria. Una storia italiana d'altri tempi''. Vertigo editoriale. Trieste, 2004.

External links

Photo of Pasquinelli

Historical background
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pasquinelli, Maria 1913 births 2013 deaths Anti-British sentiment Italian irredentism Italian people of World War II Italian assassins People from Florence Italian women centenarians Women in World War II Italian fascists Italian schoolteachers Italian neo-fascists Italian people convicted of murder Italian prisoners sentenced to death Women sentenced to death Italian women nurses Recipients of Italian presidential pardons People convicted of murder by the British military Prisoners and detainees of Italy Prisoners sentenced to death by the British military

Biography

Killing of Brigadier Robert de Winton

See also

References

Bibliography

External links