Isabelle Richet is Professor Emeritus at Universit Paris Diderot-Paris 7. She received a PhD in History from the coles des Hautes tudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. In recent years, her research has focused on exile and expatriation, especially on British and American expatriates in Italy. She has published several articles in Italian and English on Anglo-American expatriates and the Mussolini regime and has contributed to the volume Rethinking Antifascism: History, Memory and Politics, 1922 to the Present, edited by Hugo Garcia et al. (2016).
A good overview for students, academics and all those who are interested in the antifascist exile and especially in the Rosselli family during fascism.
Stfanie Prezioso, Professor of Modern European History,
University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Published in 2018 by
I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
London New York
www.ibtauris.com
Copyright 2018 Isabelle Richet
The right of Isabelle Richet to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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References to websites were correct at the time of writing.
International Library of Twentieth Century History 128
ISBN: 978 1 78831 200 4
eISBN: 978 1 78672 525 7
ePDF: 978 1 78673 525 6
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
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List of Plates
1.Marion Cave at via Giusti, Florence, spring 1926. Fondazione Rosselli.
2.Marion Cave Rosseli's police file. CPC, ACS, Rome.
3.Carlo, Marion and John (Mirtillino), Lipari Island, 1928. Fondazione Rosselli.
4.Marion, Carlo and Filipo Turati, 1931. Fondo Panunzio, BNCF, Florence.
5.Marion, Carlo and Marion's sister Pat Lewis, Le Praz, summer 1931. ISRT.
6.Filipo Turati and Marion Cave Rosselli, Brussels 1931. Fondo Panunzio, BNCF, Florence.
7.Marion and Carlo Rosselli, Royan, summer 1932. CPC, ACS, Rome.
8.Amelia Rosselli, Marion and Carlo Rosseli, Hendaye, summer 1933. CPC, ACS, Rome.
9.Marion (right, sitting) with Ada Venturi (left, sitting) and two young friends, La Baule 1934. ISRT.
10.Marion and Carlo, Bagnoles de l'Orne train station, 9 June 1937. Fondo Panunzio, BNCF.
11.Rosselli Funerals, Ceremony at La Maison des Syndicats. Marion sitting in the front row. Istoreto.
12.The funeral procession. From the right: Alberto Tarchiani (partly hidden), Emilio Lussu and Marion. Istoreto.
13.The funeral procession and the public tribute to the slain brothers. Itoreto.
14.Pre Lachaise cemetery: Marion (sitting) between Lionello Venturi (left) and Alberto Cianca (right). Istoreto.
15.Mazzini Society flier, New York. ISRT.
Acknowledgements
Scholarly research is a collective endeavour and I am endebted to many people who have supported me, shared information with me and discussed my work in various academic settings.
Some very special thanks are due to Alyson Price, the archivist of the British Institute in Florence, who first introduced me to Marion Cave; to David Rosselli who encouraged me to pursue my research on the life of his grandmother; to Paola Rosselli, Elisa Benaim and the late Genevive Noufflard who discussed some of their souvenirs of Marion with me. I am also greatly indebted to Pierre Joxe who, despite his duties at the Conseil Constitutionnel, took the time to answer my queries about his childhood memories of the Rosselli family and introduced me to his sister, Claude Joxe-Nabokov, who kindly made available the many letters her mother, Franoise Joxe, exchanged with Marion Cave Rosselli.
This book could not have been written without the help of so many archivists, in small or major institutions, around Europe and the United States. I am grateful to Howard Bailes, the historian of St Paul's Girls' school in London who facilitated my visit to the school's archives, and to the young librarian who let me rummage through the private letters and diairies of Florence and Elie Halvy in their villa at Sucy-en-Brie. To the archivists at Reading University, Churchill College in Cambridge, the Labour Party Archives in Manchester and the Institute for Social History in Amsterdam, I am indebted for helping me find materials about various British antifascist groups and individuals. The staff of the Archives Nationales in Paris guided me through the police files on the Italian anti-fascist exiles. The archivists of the Howard Gottlieb Research Center at Boston University offered me a warm welcome during a very cold New England winter. A special mention also for the anonymous archivists who sent me copies of scattered but precious letters from different corners of the world.
The bulk of the research for this book was carried out in various archives in Italy whose staff have been helpful in so many ways. I would like to thank in particular Paolo Bagnoli and Mirco Bianchi of the Istituto di Storia della Resistenza in Toscana; Andrea d'Arrigo of the Istituto Piemontese per la Storia della Resistenza a Torino; Daniela Italia of the Fondazione Rosselli in Turin; Adelina Taffuri of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze. My gratitude also goes to the staff of the Archivio Centrale dello Stato in Rome; the Archivio di Stato di Firenze; the University of Pavia; the European Union Archives in Florence; the Berenson Archives at Villa I Tatti; the Don Luigi Sturzo Archives in Rome.
I owe a special debt to two of my colleagues at Universit Paris Diderot. Catherine Collomp shared with me her findings about the various networks that supported and welcomed Italian anti-fascists in the United States. Bndicte Deschamps has accompanied and supported this project from day one and I have greatly benefited from her extensive knowledge of everything Italian, past and present.
Colleagues in France and Italy who specialize in the history of antifascism have allowed me to present my work at various conferences. I have relied extensively on their research and their comments, criticisms and suggestions have been extremely helpful. Thanks especially to Eric Vial, Alessandro Giacone, Valdo Spini, Hugo Garcia and Mercedes Yusta. My discussions with Noemi Crain Merz, who has studied the gender fault-line within Italian democratic antifascism, and Simone Visciola, who is writing a biography of Nello Rosselli, have been particularly fruitful. For some lively and useful exchanges, my thanks also go to Antonio Beccheloni, Elisa Signori, Mimmo Franzinelli, Marina Calloni, Stella Savino and Diego Dilettoso.
To family and friends, a big thank for your support and patience.
They were the salt of the earth. What would my life have been like if I had not met them on the way? But surely, I would not have come across them if I had not chosen that way.
