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The Ossola partisans from Italy, pictured here in a photograph from September 1944, were able to rely on a support network in neighbouring Ticino in Switzerland as well. <\/p>\n
Keystone-SDA <\/p>\n
The Swiss parliament has taken steps to rehabilitate\u00a0those convicted by Swiss courts for supporting the French and Italian Resistance during the Second World War. A recent publication sheds light on a little-known chapter of history: the partisan struggle in the Ossola Valley of northern Italy and the support provided by the population of the neighbouring Swiss canton of Ticino.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
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March 29, 2026 – 10:30\n<\/p>\n
By day, Silvio\u00a0Baccal\u00e0\u00a0worked as a gardener at the Hotel Brenscino in Brissago, a Swiss resort town on Lake Maggiore.\u00a0By night, he helped Italian partisans cross the border, guiding them along the smugglers\u2019 trails. Meanwhile, Gabriella\u00a0Antognini\u00a0from nearby Locarno sheltered partisans who had escaped from Swiss internment camps and\u00a0accompanied\u00a0them into Italy, so they could continue the fight against the occupying forces. Together with her sister Maria, she also acted as a courier, passing messages between fighters in Italy and those interned in Switzerland.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their actions in support of the Italian Resistance were not without risk. If caught, they faced\u00a0fines or imprisonmentExternal link<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cVincenzo Martinetti, father of the singer Nella Martinetti, was a Ticino partisan,\u201d explains historian Raphael Rues, himself from canton Ticino and co-author of the new work\u00a0Ossola in GuerraExternal link<\/a>. \u201cAt the end of the Second World War, he was sentenced to four months\u2019 imprisonment for violating neutrality, a sentence suspended on probation.\u201d The communist\u00a0Antognini\u00a0also spent a week in prison, after being caught illegally crossing the border with messages for the Resistance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n At the end of the war, around ten people from Ticino were prosecuted and convicted by the Swiss courts for helping the Ossola fighters. Now, in the 2026 spring session, the House of Representatives has approved a\u00a0parliamentary initiativeExternal link<\/a>, promoted by Ticino parliamentarian Simone Gianini among others, to\u00a0rehabilitate Swiss citizensExternal link<\/a>\u00a0who were sentenced to prison or fined for helping the French or Italian Resistance. The Senate has yet to debate on the matter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe rehabilitation approved by Parliament\u00a0formally closes a chapter that, on a human level, has never ceased to weigh heavily. For decades, the convictions lay in the archives, like a discordant note: Switzerland had prosecuted the very men and women who, just a few kilometres from the border, had risked their lives against the Nazi-Fascist occupation,\u201d the historian Rues notes. \u201cBern\u2019s decision does not erase that contradiction, but it acknowledges it. And at a time when we are seeing a resurgence of extreme ideologies also in Europe, the gesture is not just a belated tribute. It is a stand for the values of democracy.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0already something.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Switzerland: between neutrality and cooperation with the partisans <\/p>\n In April 1945, as the Second World War was finally\u00a0drawing to a close, the Swiss secret service worked with the Ossola partisans to prevent the Nazis from blowing up the southern portal of the Simplon railway tunnel linking Switzerland and Italy. On April 21, around a hundred fighters managed to destroy 32 tonnes of explosives that had been positioned in the village of\u00a0Varzo, on the Italian side of the tunnel, thus foiling the Nazis\u2019 plans.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In December 1945, after the war had ended, a ceremony was held in Brig, canton Valais, to honour \u201cthe saviours of the Simplon tunnel\u201d. The partisans invited to the ceremony were presented with Swiss watches. This episode clearly illustrates Switzerland\u2019s ambivalent position during the war. On the one hand, it strictly enforced its neutrality laws and prosecuted those who had helped the Resistance; on the other hand, especially in the border regions, it allowed fighters to cross over to safety and get medical treatment before going back to continue the fight.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Birth of the partisan Resistance in Ossola\u00a0<\/p>\n A photo report on the Republic of Ossola published in the weekly magazine *Illustrazione Ticinese* on November 4, 1944 <\/p>\n \u201cIllustrazione Ticinese\u201d, Archivio Quotidiani Canton Ticino <\/p>\n After the armistice of September 8,\u00a01943\u00a0between Marshal Badoglio\u2019s Italian government and the Allies, Ticino became\u00a0an important hub for the Italian Resistance. The canton gave refuge to civilians and partisans, provided medical care to the\u00a0wounded\u00a0and served as an operational base for\u00a0different groups\u00a0of fighters. The Ossola region, tucked between the Swiss cantons of Valais and Ticino, offered ideal conditions for armed struggle. \u201cThe many deep valleys, thick forests and remote mountain huts were perfect for guerrilla warfare. The proximity to the border also guaranteed the partisans an escape route to Switzerland after an attack or failed operation. Moreover, the population of Ossola harboured a strong aversion to the Fascist regime,\u201d Rues explains. \u201cIn late autumn 1943, the Resistance was slowly forming, but the\u00a0first phase was especially tough because of a lack of weapons, ammunition and, above all, men.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Following the proclamation of the armistice, the Germans occupied northern and central Italy. Italian soldiers were left with three options: join the armed forces of the new Fascist Republic of Sal\u00f2 (RSI); be deported to the Third Reich\u2019s labour camps; or join the Resistance. \u201cThe majority, around 700,000 soldiers, were deported within a few weeks,\u201d Rues says. \u201cAnother 100,000 enlisted in the RSI armed forces, and a similar number chose to go underground and join the Resistance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Ossola Free Zone\u00a0<\/p>\n At first, the Ossola Resistance groups limited themselves to small-scale attacks or the capture of German soldiers, whom they used as bargaining chips to secure the release of their own prisoners. As the months went by, their actions got bolder, thanks in part to the help of the inhabitants of Ticino. \u201cTheir contribution was crucial,\u201d Rues stresses. \u201cOnly about a third of the partisans possessed firearms, and ammunition was often in short supply. Rifles and pistols, as well as food and clothing from Ticino, were smuggled in along the contraband trails. Sometimes the partisans themselves procured\u00a0weapons and other supplies across the border in Switzerland. Most of the weapons, however, came from the Allies via airdrops.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The final days of the Republic of Ossola: the partisans are forced to evacuate Domodossola and seek refuge in the mountains and in neighbouring Switzerland. And photographers are not always welcome. <\/p>\n Keystone-SDA <\/p>\n The partisans achieved their greatest success in early September 1944. After liberating the valleys around the city of Domodossola, they drove out the occupying troops on September 10. This led to the founding of the Partisan Republic of Ossola, a brief experiment in democratic governance that was held up as an example after the war. \u201cIt was an important attempt to create a functioning democratic entity, which unfortunately lasted only about 40 days,\u201d Rues explains, while noting the vital role played by Ticino in allowing many members of the government, including President Ettore Tibaldi, to take refuge in Switzerland. \u201cIn\u00a0a very short\u00a0time, a postal service was re-established with its own stamps, the school system was reorganised, and public transport was resumed with Switzerland. Political equality between men and women was also introduced, a decision way ahead of its time.\u201d Here, Rues cites a famous quote by Italian journalist,\u00a0partisan\u00a0and essayist Giorgio Bocca: \u201cThe Ossola partisans achieved in 40 days what the Republic took years to accomplish.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the leading figures in the Ossola Provisional Government Council was Gisella\u00a0Floreanini,\u00a0She\u00a0was appointed commissioner for social welfare, and as such was the first woman in Italian history to hold government office. One of her tasks involved coordinating cooperation with the Swiss Red Cross, to enable the supply of food, clothing and medical supplies from cantons Ticino and Valais to the Ossola Free Zone. After the war,\u00a0Floreanini, a member of the Communist Party, was elected to the Domodossola city council. In 1948 she entered the Italian parliament, where she fought for women\u2019s political rights. \u201cThe partisans embarked on this project for a democratic state because they had probably received\u00a0assurances from the Allies that a northern front would be opened to liberate Italy from the north,\u201d Rues points out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Partisans and civilians from the Ossola region who had sought refuge in Switzerland were required to register and undergo a health check. The photograph was taken on October 1, 1944 in Bern. <\/p>\n Photopress-Archiv \/ Walter Studer <\/p>\n Abandoned by the Allies\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the partisans were left to fight the German troops on their own. The Allies focused instead on events in the east, especially Warsaw, where they airdropped equipment and weapons to Polish fighters. Furthermore, in September and October 1944, the terrible weather conditions in the Ossola Valley made it almost impossible to fly over the area and drop supplies. \u201cThe partisans had even set up airdrop sites and two landing strips,\u201d Rues notes. \u201cWithout the vital British and American supplies, the defence of Ossola was doomed to failure.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Another photograph of civilians and partisans from the Ossola region who had arrived in Bern to be registered. <\/p>\n Photopress-Archiv \/ Walter Studer <\/p>\n Indeed, just over a month after being driven out, German troops and Mussolini\u2019s units began the reconquest of the region. \u201cWhile the Ossola Free Zone functioned very well from a democratic point of view, from a military standpoint it was extremely ill-prepared,\u201d explains the Ticino historian. \u201cFor the first time, the partisans abandoned guerrilla tactics and attempted to defend the territory like a traditional army.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Within two weeks they had been routed. More than 500 partisans lost their lives and as many again were deported to German labour camps. On October 23, the Ossola Partisan Republic collapsed and over 10,000 people fled to Switzerland, including 3,500 partisans. According to documents from the Swiss Federal Archives, at least 1,500 children were taken in by families across the country, while the adults were placed in refugee or internment camps,\u00a0mainly in\u00a0German-speaking Switzerland. \u201cThis mass exodus was also made possible thanks to the relaxation of Swiss refugee policy,\u201d Rues concludes. \u201cBy October 1944, Germany\u2019s defeat seemed certain and the risk of German reprisals was limited.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Post-war reckoning\u00a0 <\/p>\n Between 1943 and 1945, at least 2,000 people died in the Ossola Valley region, including 600 civilians. The end of the war did not bring an immediate end to the violence. In the months following the Liberation, various acts of retribution took place and many Fascists were killed, especially members of the Black Brigades, the most reactionary and violent unit. In addition\u00a0to the executions were acts of personal revenge, which had little to do with the partisan struggle. Isolated episodes of violence continued up until 1948.\u00a0<\/p>\n Edited by Daniele Mariani. 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