Family memory

Anna Bigi and the Transmission of the Cervi Brothers' Memory

Anna Bigi is the granddaughter of Antenore Cervi, one of the seven Cervi brothers killed by the fascists in 1943 for their active participation in the partisan struggle.
For years, she has toured schools to pass on the memory of a family that paid a high price to defend freedom and renew democracy in Italy. Her testimony helps children recognize themselves in this great history, to empathize with the protagonists of those events, to understand that at every moment of our lives, it is important to make decisions not only for ourselves, but also for others.

In light of your family history and the current situation in Italy and around the world, what meaning does anti-fascism have today? Do you fear that certain anti-fascist values ​​may be forgotten or distorted?
I believe that anti-fascism today means opposing any form of oppression between states and between individuals. Being anti-fascist, even today, means fighting for the defense of everyone's rights and democracy; It means "taking part" and committing to ensuring that all citizens have equal opportunities and the chance to realize their potential and aspirations.
Bringing and demanding respect. Father Cervi used to say: "Don't be afraid of anyone; you are a man, they are men." I don't know if the values ​​of anti-fascism can be distorted.
I'm more of the opinion that they can be forgotten or trampled upon.
I can't imagine how they could "be" if not in their full meaning, in their totality.
Otherwise, they "are not," they cannot be. I would also add that the idea of ​​"taking part," in my opinion, also entails the right (duty) to demand that anyone holding an elected office be available, feel committed to being accountable, explain, and make understandable the reasons and meaning of every decision they make; that they not feel entitled to think that their role gives them the "power" to decide "in the name" of those who elected them.

Was your upbringing strongly influenced by your family history? Did this situation sometimes weigh on you? What was your relationship with your family's memory? Do you carry a personal memory from your childhood?
Yes, there were times when I felt (and still feel) the weight of my family's history. For example, I could never miss a commemoration of the Cervi Brothers massacre, or the parade/demonstration on April 25th. One year, when I was thirty, on an April 25th, when I didn't attend the celebrations, word spread around town that I was ill, and from word of mouth, like in a game of Chinese telephone, some people even thought I was hospitalized! At a certain point (I was 16 or 17), I remember having a major discussion with my mother because I didn't understand the point—year after year—of repeating the ritual of the cemetery procession, the flowers, the rhetorical speeches...
Moments that were sacred to her were the representation, the public recognition of the value of her father's and uncles' sacrifice, and therefore, in some way, they also gave meaning to her mourning, to her pain. Then the idea took hold that the best way to give meaning to the sacrifice of the Cervi brothers, like that of the many partisans who lost their lives during the Resistance, was to highlight the reasons for their choice, the values ​​for which they devoted their lives. And so the Museum, Casa Cervi, is a living place, a place where the results of the liberation struggle are celebrated, where the principles that underpinned it are kept alive and relevant. Being called Bigi and not Cervi has given me, and continues to give me, the ability to choose when, how, and to whom I tell them I'm part of this story. I'm very proud of this belonging, and I hate it when those I talk to feel pity prevail over appreciation, over acknowledgment of the meaning and value of the choice that has so profoundly affected my family.

A personal question: has the possibility of forgiveness arisen in your life?
I haven't directly experienced the pain of loss; I "exhaled" it indirectly from my mother, my grandmother, and other family members, so the topic of forgiveness has never really occurred to me.
I can tell you that when Papa Cervi was asked the same question, he replied that he was asking for "justice, not revenge."
Furthermore, I believe that forgiveness is a category that intervenes in relationships between people; in this case, the culprit is the fascist system, not so much individual leaders. Let me explain: I don't think individuals shouldn't be held responsible, quite the opposite! Captain Pilati, responsible for the arrest and execution, was tried and sentenced to death after the war. I happened to meet one of his nieces who told me she felt a deep sense of guilt for the crimes her uncle had committed. I felt compelled to reassure her. Of course, I don't know how I would have reacted if I had found myself directly facing Captain Pilati...
At the same time, I find it profoundly unfair to equate those who fell in the partisan ranks with those who died fighting in the fascist ranks. The dead are dead, of course, and they are all equal. It's the side they were on before they died that makes the difference.

Renato Bonomo
NP PLUS
NP May 2025