10 Facts About Ettore Troilo

Ettore Enzo Fimiani Troilo was an Italian Resistance leader during World War II.

Ettore Troilo wrote for the newspaper Il Mondo until 1926, when it was closed down by the Fascist regime.

On 10 and 11 September 1943, in the wake of the armistice of Cassibile, Ettore Troilo participated in the unsuccessful defense of Rome against the Germans; after the occupation of the capital he headed for his native town, Torricella Peligna, where he was captured by German soldiers, but later managed to escape.

Ettore Troilo was thus able to obtain weaponry, ammunition and equipment, and began recruiting volunteers for his group which he named Corpo Volontari della Maiella.

The Volontari della Maiella, initially a hundred men under Ettore Troilo's leadership, started operating in January 1944, and soon grew to some 350 members; under the joint leadership of Ettore Troilo and Major Wigram, on 15 January 1944 the volunteers captured Colle dei Lami, and two days later Colle Ripabianca.

The brigade was formally disbanded on 15 July 1945, after which Ettore Troilo became an inspector of the Ministry of Post-War Assistance.

Ettore Troilo was removed from office on 27 November 1947 by decision of the Minister of the Interior, Christian Democrat Mario Scelba.

Ettore Troilo was offered a post at the United Nations as Italy's minister plenipotentiary for information problems and promotion to first class prefect, which he accepted.

Ettore Troilo spent the last decades of his life working as a lawyer, as well as honoring the memory of the "Maiella" Brigade.

Ettore Troilo managed to have a shrine to the Brigade's fallen built in Taranta Peligna, and was among the founders of the Institute for the History of the Resistance Movement in L'Aquila.