During the World War II, the Comino Valley (here passed the Gustav Line) was the rear of a war front with all the suffering that it entailed for our grandparents, but despite the suffocating control of the Nazis there was no lack of examples of courage.
Giuseppe Testa, gold medal for military valour.
Giuseppe Testa: History of a Hero of the Resistance in the Comino Valley
The memory of the World War II at Comino Valley is inextricably linked to figures of great courage. Prominent among them is the young Giuseppe Testa, partisan and gold medal for military valour (in memory), whose human and political story represents one of the most moving moments of the local Resistance against the Nazi occupation.
Commitment to the Resistance and the “Marsica Patriots”
Giuseppe Testa was a man of action deeply attached to the values of freedom. Actively engaged in the Resistance, had already managed to escape a first capture in Monterotondo, near Rome. After his escape, he chose to take refuge in his home town, Morrea (AQ), where he did not stand idly by: he set up the committee called “Marsica Patriots”.
The organisation was vital to the survival of many: it hid and provided assistance to stray soldiers and foreign prisoners who had escaped from prison camps, creating a network of solidarity in the heart of the Apennines.
Betrayal and capture
The end of his mission came because of a deception. A German officer infiltrated the gang pretending to be a British medical officer; thanks to this ruse, he managed to capture Giuseppe Testa together with two of his fellow soldiers. While the other two were later freed, there was no escape for Giuseppe: his record and leadership made him a prime target for the occupying forces.
Martyrdom: Broccostella and the sacrifice at Alvito
Captured by the Nazis on 21 March 1944, Giuseppe Testa was taken to via Mandrone in Broccostella. There he was subjected to long interrogations and ferocious torture, but his silence was absolute: he refused any collaboration with the enemy.
Transported to Alvito, his destiny was fulfilled on’11 May 1944, just days after the territory was liberated. He was shot in locality Fontanelle, becoming a symbol of the sacrifice for freedom in the Comino Valley.
A gesture of human mercy: Francesco Brusca and Don Crescenzo Forte
The story of Giuseppe Testa continued even after his death, intertwining with the civil courage of the local population. The Germans had ordered his body to be left exposed at the site of the torture as a warning to the inhabitants. However, braving the danger, the carter Francesco Brusca removed the body out of “human mercy” and transported it to the cemetery.
This act of rebellion did not go unnoticed: Brusca was arrested and risked being shot. What saved him was a delicate balance of local influences:
- The local fascist secretary, well-connected to Nazi commands, sought a diplomatic way out.
- Don Crescenzo Forte, the parish priest at the time, was advised to declare that he had ordered the burial himself, pretending to ignore German orders.
They both risked their lives to protect Brusca, who was ultimately saved, closing this dramatic page of history with a last glimmer of humanity in dark times.