Commander Bruno dies

Paride Brunetti, the partisan from Saronno, who was best known as Commander Bruno, died at 5 o’ clock on Sunday morning. He was 94, and had been a “fighter” up until the last moment; over the last few years, he had become active again in politics, choosing to stand in the administrative elections as part of the municipal list Tu@Saronno, often attending pre-election press conferences.

“In politics, only the secretaries count, the man doesn’t count any more,” he said during one of his last public appearances. “When I was a town councillor in the 1970s, I also had to raise my hand every now and again. I have a few last moments of life, now that the pacemaker has rejuvenated me a bit.”

And on his memories of war: “On the mountains of Belluno, at an altitude of 2000 metres, we were all equal, united by the desire for freedom. Only a few were true communists, also because we didn’t know what communism really was. As a young man, I was also a Fascist, Italy had won two World Cups in football, things were going reasonably well. I was in the middle of it all, I didn’t know even what Fascism really was. Then I rejected it, when it joined with Nazism.”

On the municipal list: “Those of us in Tu@Saronno were its last brigade, we chose it because of its cultural and political sensitivity; it’s been a tireless representative of hope for the people of Italy.”

In the evening, the Mayor, Luciano Porro, remembered Brunetti. “His death reminds us of the values he once fought for, for which he had always battled to ensure they would not be lost: liberty, democracy, justice, respect for others. He fought to free our country from Nazi-Fascism, and to protect national unity, both yesterday, and today. And so, he has passed on to us the task of continuing along this clearly defined path, so that the wicked attempts to dishonour national unity, the flag, and the fundamental values that were written down with blood, that became the foundation of our Constitution do not prevail. And so, it is with a great sense of gratitude that we receive the human, political and spiritual testimony of Paride Brunetti, that we make his battles ours, that we remember them forever, particularly for the new generations.”