Quel Mattino d’Aprile (That Morning in April)

A story of retaliation
04/13/1944

HISTORY
In the spring of 1944, after the Anglo-American army landed in Anzio, Italy, troops were blocked in a stagnant situation in Cassino, a town nestled between the provinces of Perugia, Terni and Rieti. A major military operation was executed by the Germans against the partisan bands of Italians to eliminate the danger of sabotage logistics systems located behind the frontline.

In an attempt to clean the entire area, the departments of the German group “Schanze,” sustained by the Italian National Republican Guard, carried out several raids carrying out often unjustified attacks against local Italian civilians. In this context, one of the darkest events in the history of Calvi dell’Umbria occurred. Between April 12 and 13 of 1944, 16 civilians suspected of collaborating with partisans were shot and killed. This was of one of the many episodes of genuine pre-emptive war on civilians, deliberately organized with particular ferocity by Field Marshal Kesselring, commander of the German armed forces stationed in Italy.

On April 12 and 13, some citizens were arrested, held in the police station and, without a trial, were shot in the town square at dawn the next day by a platoon of the German 20th SS Police Regiment under the command of Major Wilcke. Among the victims, along with two foreigners whose names are still unknown to this day, were two cousins aged 16 and 17;  Genesio and Ernesto Guglielmi, and three brothers, Adolfo (Ernesto’s father), Emilio and Gino ages 48, 44 and 32, all members of a family who ran a hotel-restaurant in Calvi and were accused of having hosted some partisans. The other victims were: Liberato Montegaggi, 57 years old; the town barber Fabrizio Fabbri, 42, alleged supplier of partisans; PacificoPielicè, 40, Ernesto Semicola, 42, Domenico Salvati, 39, and Lorenzo Carofei, 59, all suspected of having collaborated with the partisans.

Starting from the general historical scene of what happened post-September 8, 1943, the show Quel Mattino d’Aprile presents a detailed narration of one the many attacks upon civilians that occurred during the German occupation in Italy in WWII. Through the presence of a narrator assisted by three actors who play the protagonists, the intricate dynamics, causes and background that led the German platoon to commit the unspeakable killing of sixteen people begin to take shape. The text is constructed to follow a spiral structure which departs from the description of the general historical context, gradually enters into the homes of the protagonists confronting their emotions, and ends its path in front of the wall where the shooting took place as the characters talk amongst themselves.

This detailed reconstruction of the events in question is the result of extensive historical research of documents found in military archives and eye-witness statements that often conflict with the official materials. From this research, it became possible to give life to the protagonists of ‘event, exposing background details completely invisible in the official documents. Quel Mattino d’Aprile is a play that created a link between its original audience, the citizens of Calvi dell’Umbria, and art in the form of historical documentary theater, and sustains the historical importance of a tragic event that happened during the final phase of World War II.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
Title: Quel Mattino d’Aprile (That Morning in April)
Number of actors: 4
Duration: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Technical quipment consisting of 8-10 spotlights, a dimmer, full audio amplification and speakers, and 4 wireless microphones is necessary.

For more information or to bring this show to your area, please contact Germano Rubbi: germano@digitalispurpurea.org

Written, directed and interpreted by:
Germano Rubbi

With:
Amedeo Carlo Capitanelli
Giovanni D’Artibale
Costanza Farroni

Many thanks to General Enzo Climinti and Professor Angelo Bitti for their historical advice, to the town of Calvi dell’Umbria for their institutional support, and to all the citizens of Calvi and in particular Leonardi Livio, Renzo Leonardi, Vincenzo Fabbri, Vittorio Bettini, who, with their testimonials, have contributed to the dialogues in the text of Quel Mattino d’Aprile.

–Germano Rubbi