Rebellious spirit

Ragusa, Sicily, 1945. Mussolini’s fascist regime had fallen apart, with many of his backers turning ‘democratic’ and hoping to prevent a revolution with the help of the allied armies and Communist Party. After five years of war, their attempts to create a new Italian army are met with evasion and resistance. Maria Occhipinti began the Ragusa anti-draft revolt of January, 1945 by laying down in front of an army truck carrying arrested draftees, who then escaped. A four-day insurrection followed, with the rich dispossessed, until the Italian army was able to retake the city. Maria Occhipinti served nearly two years’ prison for her part in the revolt. Afterwards, she travelled endlessly, seeking her own freedom – and a free world. Here we present texts on the 1945 revolt, anti-fascism in Ragusa and the lives of both Maria Occhipinti and fellow Ragusan anarchist rebel Franco Leggio.