Simon Petru Cristofini
Simon Petru Cristofini (1903–1943), also known as Pietro Simone Cristofini (
Biography
Early life
Cristofini was born in Calenzana, Haute-Corse on 26 May 1903. When 24 years old he married Marta Renucci.
World War II
In 1939 became a Captain of the 3rd Algerian Tirailleurs Regiment. He was initially a supporter of Marshal Philippe Pétain.
Allied forces landed in
In Tunisia Cristofini was wounded in one eye.[2] Before returning to Corsica he met Benito Mussolini in Rome.
Colonel Cristofini was a supporter of the union of Corsica with Italy and defended
He was put on trial for treason after the Allies retook Corsica, and sentenced to death. He tried to kill himself, and was executed while suffering from his wounds in November 1943.[3]
After World War II
His wife, Marta Renucci, was sentenced to 15 years of jail in Algiers in 1946 for supporting irredentism and for collaborating with Italian fascism, but served only a reduced sentence.
Bibliography
- Il Martirio di un irredento: il colonnello Petru Simone Cristofini. Rivista Storia Verità, n.11, 1998.
See also
- Italian-occupied Corsica
- Phalange Africaine
Notes
- ^ Phalange Africaine
- ^ Cristofini was wounded by mistake with an antitank granade (in French) Archived 2012-01-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rivista Storia Verità, n.11, 1998