Italian
To commemorate, 80 years later, the end of the war and the liberation of the city of Treviso, which took place on April 29, 1945, Istresco, in collaboration with numerous associations and with the Municipality of Treviso and under the patronage of the Province of Treviso, the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso and Belluno, as well as the prestigious Ferruccio Parri National Institute, has organized a full program of events from April 15 to May 6, which will enliven the city and immerse us in the memory of this moment of joy and hope in Italian history.
ITALY. An anniversary as important as the Eightieth, which concerns not only scholars but the entire citizenry; the discussion about what happened in our city had to move beyond the study places, libraries, and archives and become public, involving the citizens.
Animated by this spirit, the scholars of Istresco have launched an appeal to the cultural associations of the city, which responded with enthusiasm, thus promoting 15 events and 5 exhibitions organized and conceived by 16 promoters.
The festival’s opening took place on April 15th at 5 pm at Palazzo dei Trecento with a lecture by Professor Mario Isnenghi, emeritus professor of Contemporary History at Ca’ Foscari, one of the most authoritative Italian historians, president of the Venetian Institute for the History of the Resistance and Contemporary Society, and co-editor of “Belfagor.” The theme he addressed, “Teachers and Schoolmates,” considered how the relationships formed in schools during the years of the Resistance influenced the development of those who were politically active during that time and beyond.
Thursday, April 15th was the moment of Fai, with the intervention of Arch. Mario Gemin at the Palazzo dei Trecento, who spoke to us about the restoration of this palace, a symbol of the city, in the immediate post-war period based on a project by architect Forlati. An excellent intervention, taken as an example even beyond the Italian borders, considering the precarious conditions of the building after the bombing on April 7, 1944.
On Saturday, April 19th, the ANPI and Lega Ambiente organized a 5-kilometer walk within the city, entitled “The places of memory/the memory of places,” starting from the University square and ending in Piazza dei Signori, where participants were able to discover plaques that had never been noticed or read before, and where Lega Ambiente highlighted the importance of rivers in the history of our city.
Next, on April 22nd there will be a reading about the testimonies of the Resistance and Liberation, always at Palazzo dei Trecento, organized by Istresco, the Dante Alighieri society, Comitato Treviso, and the Giuseppe Berto Association. In the afternoon at 5 pm, there will be a concert at the Santa Caterina Auditorium, titled “History in Music – Resistance in the Trevigiano area”, directed by Francesca Gallo, former President of Istresco, featuring performances by students from the Giorgione Music High School in Castelfranco Veneto.
On this occasion, the book “Storie di resistenti, Treviso 1943-45” edited by Istresco will also be presented. In the evening, at 8:45 PM, there will be a screening of commented images by the Società Iconografica Trevigiana at Casa Toniolo.
The highlight of the entire event will be the conference entitled “Our Resistance – Projects and research in progress in Treviso“, organized by the Scientific Committee Istresco, Anpi and Avi, which will take place at Palazzo dei 300 from 14:30 to 19:00.
Naturally April 25th will be celebrated institutionally with the participation of all the associations gathered. On April 26th, on the other hand, a bike tour is planned, organized by Fiab and Anpi, focusing on the locations of the last clashes before the liberation of the city.
The meeting is scheduled in the south parking lot of the Monigo Rugby Stadium at 9:45 AM.
In the evening, at the CGIL auditorium, organized by the provincial Anpi, there will be a concert by Alessio Lega, titled: “Here Radio freedom. The Resistance in 100 songs“
Monday, April 28, at 5:00 PM, at the Rosso Coletti Hall in the Santa Caterina Museum, there will be a screening of the documentary film about the partisan Bruna Fregonese, guardian of the memory of the Resistance in Treviso, curated by Istresco.
The following day, on April 29, at 8:30 PM, at the church of San Teonisto, there will be a concert by the Popular University choir directed by Erika Boschiero, entitled “April Celebration. Journey into the most intimate stories of the Resistance, 80 years after Liberation” (with LIS translations).
On Friday, May 2nd, Professor Eugenio Manzato will hold a conference in the Zanini Room of the Bailo Museum, on the contribution of artists to the reconstruction of Treviso: 1945 – 1950, organized by the Friends of the Museums, followed by a tour of the paintings. The event will take place from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm.
Sunday, May 4th at 5:00 PM at the Loggia dei Cavalieri there will be a workshop dedicated to under 30s, but open to everyone, organized by Attivi @ TV, entitled: “Do we resist again?”
The festival will end on May 6th, with the screening of Chiara Andrich’s documentary film at Palazzo dei Trecento at 5:00 PM, entitled “With messages in their hair. Girls of the Resistance in Treviso” curated by Fiab.
But during the festival there will be three exhibitions: the first at the National Museum Collezione Salce, curated by Istresco in collaboration with the Istituto Engim Turazza di Treviso, entitled “R3!Resist, Remember, Renew”, where you can find a selection of posters on the elaboration of the concept of freedom by the museum itself and a section entitled “Finally!” where mural posters from the days of Liberation of the Vanzella Collection are exhibited, curated by the Associazione Piccola Atene.
In the Chapter Hall, organized by the Episcopal Curia and the Seminary Library, the exhibition “It will rise more beautiful than before. Bombings, solidarity, and reconstruction in the photographs and documents of the diocesan cultural institutions” has opened.
Finally, in the city there will be three Totems, with images of Treviso from wartime, accompanying the festival’s activities, curated by the Società Iconografica Trevigiana.
All these events hopefully will contribute to the understanding of what happened in Treviso and should be contextualized within the event of the Liberation of 1945, which marked the outcome of twenty months of armed resistance by fighting partisans, as well as unarmed resistance by civilians and military personnel, supported by ideals, thoughts, demands, aspirations, and rebellions that many had cultivated long before the fall of fascism, for years, even for two decades.
Eighty years separate us from that April 25th, 1945, which our country recognizes as the day of liberation from Nazi-fascism and the end of the war. In reality, it was the date of the proclamation of national insurrection against the Nazi-fascist occupying forces launched by Sandro Pertini from the microphones of Radio Milano Liberata, on behalf of the National Committee of Northern Italy and the Volunteer Corps of Freedom.
For Treviso, the 25th and following days were still days of bloody clashes between the partisans and the Nazi-fascist forces.
When in the course of the night between April 29 and 30, the first American tanks approached the city from Padua, they found it already liberated by the partisan forces and the citizens.
Let’s conclude by remembering that in 1948 the city of Treviso was awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor for having ‘raised from the misfortunes of September 8, 1943 the torch of the Resistance‘, for having fought against the invading German army, organizing the first ‘armed ranks’ in the plains and mountains, and for having been, throughout the period, the soul of an ‘indomitable resistance of the people and partisan brigades’, deserving a festival that would commemorate its deeds and its protagonists, as well as reminding us of a civic sense that sometimes does not appear in our priorities.
