2023-11-10 13:00:29
by CARLO BARONI
«On the right side» (Neri Pozza) by Ugo Savoia narrates the story of the Ucelli spouses from Nemi. The meeting with the author at BookCity Milan on Saturday 18 November
The war has clear ideas. He looks us straight in the eyes and calls us by name. And the heroes are not those who fight but those who save us. It was like this also in Milan in 1944. When taking sides was not (just) a political choice. But to put a dam on the inhumane. At the cost of being overwhelmed by dark forces. At the risk of losing everything, even reputation and respectability.
Carla and Guido came before their upper class surname. They were first of all a woman and a man who could not help but be together for life. They were more than a wife and a husband. They met in Gressoney in 1912. A life together. And perhaps it was precisely that overflowing love that gave them the strength to break the wall of hatred and betrayal.
Carla Tosi and Guido Ucelli di Nemi are the protagonists of Ugo Savoia’s new book Dalla parte nuova, published by Neri Pozza. She is the daughter of a dynasty of industrialists, the owners of Franco Tosi in Legnano, one of the historic factories in the north-west of Milan. He is an engineer. Prestigious profession, but not to the point of paving the way for him to the altar together with Carla. An engagement not opposed, but hindered in some way. Una Tosi deserved more. They didn’t yet know that she had chosen the best.
They were those couples that you immediately understand that they are made for each other. The children arrive, perfect clones of their parents, and a beautiful home. Which welcomes friends who love culture. Music and the arts. Casa Ucelli becomes the epicenter of Milanese living rooms where being invited does not mean belonging to a restricted and slightly snobbish club. You meet brilliant, open and generous minds. We debate, we discuss an Italy that has taken a dangerous turn. Engineer Ucelli is also an innovator in the business world. The Riva company is also at the forefront, and perhaps above all, for the relationship created between the owners and the employees. Something that anticipates the experiments and approach to a new way of doing business that will characterize Adriano Olivetti.
Carla and Guido are also without prejudice regarding the impositions of the regime. In the company that Guido runs, Riva, one of his closest collaborators is a Jew. And when the racial laws of 1938 were issued, Guido Ucelli would also write to the Duce to plead the cause of his right-hand man. Without fear of being branded as an enemy of fascism and anti-Italian, as will inevitably happen in a few years. He will challenge the risk for a more valuable asset. A choice always shared, indeed even supported by his wife Carla. A support that will prove decisive when the country sinks into the darkness of a night that will seem endless.
When the war enters its harshest phase, Carla and Guido immediately know which side they are on. Milan has changed, nothing is enough to end up on the blacklist. Informers are swarming, ready to sell you for a fashionable fedora. We are also wary of friends and our words are measured. Courage is a luxury of those who value their own life in little consideration. The Birds are not heroes nor dangerous subverters of order. Only they can’t turn their faces away from oppression and injustice. They use their position as a family that matters to help those who have ended up in the storm. They also host them in their home in Liguria, in Paraggi, under a false name. Thus they manage to keep a Jewish couple hidden until the end of the conflict. Carla and Guido’s children are already active in the Resistance with the Green Flames. And they collaborate with the legendary Don Barbareschi.
A generosity that will lead to a tragic misstep. The attempt to get the Minerbi spouses, Jews, to expatriate to Switzerland ends badly. The ferryman to safety, a certain Binda, someone who always kept his gaze low (never trust anyone who doesn’t look you straight in the eye) instead of on Swiss soil, hands them over to the SS. But not before receiving a letter thanking their saviors in Milan. A black and white complaint that brings the fascist police to the Ucelli house. The next dramatic stop is the San Vittore prison. Carla and Guido are separated and registered as political prisoners. Worse than common criminals. At the mercy of the torturers who do not spare the two beatings and torture. It is the most painful phase of the whole affair. The book does not spare the atrocities to which the two spouses are subjected. Who resist all the Nazis’ attempts to extort confessions that would lead other people to prison. All the dignity of Carla and Guido emerges. A courage that goes beyond a pride that does not want to be bowed. An attitude that is striking and makes the beasts in front of them even more ferocious. The greatest pain is physical separation. For the two of them who truly feel like one. Then Guido’s liberation comes thanks to an exchange of hostages. But leaving prison with Carla still a prisoner is useless. There are rumors that the woman will be transferred to a concentration camp in Germany. An epilogue foiled almost by a miracle.
For their courage the Birds will have the honor of being included in the Garden of the Righteous. Ugo Savoia outlines their story with the sobriety of a thoroughbred chronicler. Essential writing that never gets dry. A book that is also an accurate document of those years. A tool to always keep the memory alive and keep our guard up against abuse and violence.
The meeting with the author at BookCity Milan
Ugo Savoia will present his book «On the right side» in Milan as part of BookCity on Saturday 18 November (6 pm) in the Biancamano room of the National Museum of Science and Technology. Sergio Harari, Fiorenzo Marco Galli, Pia Ucelli di Nemi and Giovanna Majno participate.
November 10, 2023 (changed November 10, 2023 | 12:00)
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