Alcide Cervi

Alcide Cervi (1875–1970) is the patriarch of an Italian family noted for partisan activities that resisted the Italian fascist regime. He is the father of the Cervi Brothers, who were executed during the struggle against Fascism.

Alcide Cervi
Born	(1875-05-06)6 May 1875 Milan, Kingdom of Italy
Died	27 March 1970(1970-03-27) (aged 94) Reggio Emilia, Italy
Occupations	Farmer Partisan

Biography

Cervi was born on May 6, 1875, at Campegine, Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.^[1] He was the son of Agostino and Virginia Cervi, a family of Emilian mezzadri.^[1] He married his wife Genoveffa in 1899. The couple had nine children, who were born between 1901 and 1921.^[1] Seven of these were males and they later accompanied Cervi in his activism against Fascism.^{[citation needed]}

Activism

Cervi worked as a peasant but became a political activist during the Italian fascist regimes. An account cited a tradition of activism in the Cervi family, which had a history of farming that intersected with political struggle. In 1896, for instance, Alcide's father Agostino led a peasant insurgency after the government imposed tax on flour.^[2]

Cervi first joined the Partito Popolare Italiano (PPI), a political group founded by the Sicilian priest Luigi Sturzo.^[3] Cervi participated in political movements that focused on reform and the modernization of agriculture. Cervi became an active member of the Italian Popular Party, one of the three biggest political parties in Italy that was eventually known for opposing Fascism.^[4] This party, the predecessor of the Cristian Democracy, favored social legislation and agrarian reforms.^[1] Later, Cervi drifted towards the Partito Socialista Italiano, which was the offshoot of the merger of different Marxist-socialist parties in Italy.^[2]

Alcide Cervi and his family.

The Cervi family initially attracted the attention of authorities sometime in the mid-1930s after they opened a library that included books considered to be seditious.^[5] During this time, members of Cervi's family were arrested but none were incarcerated.^[5] Cervi and his sons were also present during demonstrations that called for the release of political prisoners on July 26, 1943.^[6] He was also credited for organizing the escape of allied prisoners from the Fossoli camp and he hid the escapees in his farm.^[6] Cervi managed these activities with the help of the Sarzi family, which managed a traveling theater company.^[6]

Awards and recognition

The Parco Alcide Cervi at Reggio Emilia, Italy was named in Cervi's honor.

On January 17, 1954, Cervi was awarded by Luigi Einaudi the Medaglia d'oro della Resistenza (Gold Medal of the Resistance) in recognition of his contributions to the anti-Fascist movement.^[3] Previously, Cervi was also the recipient of several awards given by Einaudi's predecessor, Enrico De Nicola.^[3]

Cervi and his family story was first told by author Italo Calvino, who published a couple of articles detailing the family's history and their participation in the Resistance movement.^[7] The stories were published in Patria independente and L'Unita in 1953. Aside from their struggles as partisans, Calvino also highlighted Cervi and his family's contributions to Italian agriculture. This aspect was also highlighted in the study conducted by Ilaria Marcyan entitled, The Cervi Family: A Peasant Story.^[8]

Cervi died on May 27, 1970, at Reggio Emilia.^[9]