Carla Capponi
Carla Capponi | |
---|---|
Chamber of Deputies | |
In office 25 May 1972 – 4 July 1976 | |
Constituency | Rome |
In office 25 June 1953 – 11 June 1958 | |
Constituency | Rome |
Personal details | |
Born | Rome, Italy | 7 December 1918
Died | 24 November 2000 Zagarolo, Italy | (aged 81)
Political party | Italian Communist Party |
Occupation | Politician, Partisan |
Nickname | The Little English Girl |
Military service | |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | National Liberation Committee |
Carla Capponi aka The Little English Girl (7 December 1918 – 24 November 2000) was an Italian partisan and politician who received the
Biography
Youth
Carla Capponi grew up in Rome, where she was the eldest child. She attended the Ennio Quirino Visconti Liceo Ginnasio in the same class as Carlo Lizzani and Piero Della Seta, the future Communist city councillor Piero Della Seta. In 1940 her father who was a mining engineer died and the three sisters had to work, forcing Carla Capponi to abandon her studies of Law.[1]
On 19 July 1943, immediately after the bombing of San Lorenzo, Carla rushed to the Policlinico Hospital in search of her mother and remained there as a volunteer;[2] subsequently she allows clandestinely communist activists to gather in her apartment in front of the Trajan's Forum, including Gioacchino Gesmundo, Luciano Lusana, Adele Bei, Carla Angelini and Mario Leporatti.[3] In one of these meetings she met Rosario Bentivegna, three years younger medical student;[4] while in via Margutta instead, in the studio of the sculptor Nino Franchina, she met the activist Filiberto Sbardella[5] (one of the leaders of the Red Flag).
Italian resistance
Around the time of the German occupation of Italy (1939-1945), she joined the Italian Communist Party and began her involvement in the resistance. A comrade in the struggle described her as "this young blonde woman who went out at night to shoot Germans... with arms in hand, first among the first, she participated in dozens of actions, distinguishing herself in a superb way." During the war, she was known as the "little English girl" (Inglesina).[1]
Among her first major actions was the assassination of a German officer leaving the Hotel Excelsior carrying a briefcase with defence plans for the city. Capponi described the action:
"It was a traumatic experience. I almost wanted to call to him, to make him turn around... but I knew he was armed. It seemed impossible that with my peaceful disposition, against any form of violence, I should hold the gun, point it at him and shoot him in the back. I took his briefcase. I was in shock... I began running down the street with the gun still in my hand... It was raining and tears were streaming down my face... After getting over the initial shock, especially since many of our comrades were being arrested and tortured, all our scruples were replaced by sheer determination to fight for our cause."
During the Via Rasella attack on 23 March 1944, she became a vice-commander of a Gruppi di Azione Patriottica (GAP; "Patriotic Action Groups") squad.[6]
Post-war
On 22 September 1944, Capponi married Rosario Bentivegna, with whom she had fought in the resistance. In 1945, she gave birth to a daughter named Elena. The couple later divorced in 1974.
In 1953 she was elected to the
Capponi was awarded the
Electoral history
Election | House | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1953 | Chamber of Deputies | Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone | PCI | 13,691 | Elected | |
1958 | Chamber of Deputies | Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone | PCI | 5,629 | Not elected | |
1972 | Chamber of Deputies | Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone | PCI | 40,585 | Elected |
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87413-918-1.
- ^ Portelli, Alessandro (2005). L'ordine è già stato eseguito. Roma: Donzelli editore. p. 114.
- ^ Katz, Robert (2009). Roma città aperta. Milano: Il Saggiatore. p. 60.
- ^ Bentivegna, Rosario (1983). Achtung Banditen!. Milano: Mursia. pp. 57–58.
- ^ Capponi, Carla (2000). Con Cuore Di Donna. Il Ventennio, la Resistenza a Roma, via Rasella: I ricordi di una protagonista. Milano: Il Saggiatore.
- ISBN 0912869143.
- ^ "Niente cimitero Acattolico, le ceneri di Carla Capponi e Rosario Bentivegna riposano nel Tevere". 23 September 2014.
- ^ "Le ceneri dei partigiani Capponi e Bentivegna disperse nel Tevere – ANPI Roma".