Pasta v. Fascists: How Italy's Staple Dish Became A Symbol Of Resistance
Over 400 people gathered around a pasta dinner in a gesture of solidarity and unity in memory of the Cervi family.
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Mussolini's last meal
The choice of pasta as a symbol of anti-fascist celebration has a double meaning: the first is the fact that the fascist government opposed pasta and other dishes, forcefully imposing its influence on the culinary culture of the people. An important boost to this came from Tommaso Marinetti's "Manifesto of Futurist Cuisine," where the first point was titled "Against Pasta."
Marinetti targeted a food that, according to the Futurists themselves, would be the cause of weakness, pessimism, nostalgic inactivity, and neutrality typical of the Italian people. Marinetti went so far as to theorize the necessary "abolition of absurd Italian gastronomic religion of dry pasta," discouraging its consumption, for instance, in favor of rice or soups, asserting that "the abolition of dry pasta will free Italy from costly foreign wheat and promote the Italian rice industry."
Mussolini had a meal consisting of plain pasta as his last meal.
And the second meaning? Well, ironically, Mussolini — who suffered from stomach issues and for whom food held little importance — had a meal consisting of plain pasta as his last meal on Lake Como, on April 27, 1945. Mussolini had already been captured by partisans and taken to the Guardia di Finanza barracks in Germasino where he was reunited with his lover, Claretta Petacci. The soldiers from the Guardia di Finanza arranged for the couple's last supper, having it prepared by the owners of the local inn, Giovanni Chiaroni and Teresa Mazzucchi. The menu included plain pasta with a little butter and roast kid (young goat). There was no wine, only flat and carbonated water.
The Cervi brothers, and keeping their memory alive
The family of the seven Cervi brothers (Gelindo, Antenore, Aldo, Ferdinando, Agostino, Ovidio, and Ettore) were openly anti-fascist, Catholic, and democratic. After their iconic celebration of Mussolini's arrest with their anti-fascist pasta, they enlisted into the Italian Resistance, but their time of service only lasted a few months. They were tragically captured, tortured, and then executed. Their killing occurred as an act of reprisal: on December 27, the partisans killed the municipal secretary of Bagnolo in Piano, Davide Onfiani, and the following day, the Cervi brothers and their companion, Quarto Camurri, were mowed down by the machine guns of the Black Brigades at the shooting range in Reggio Emilia as an act of revenge.
There is even a "network of anti-fascist pasta events".
Over the decades, the tradition of keeping alive the free distribution of pasta in memory of the Cervi brothers has been maintained. There is even a "network of anti-fascist pasta events" in addition to the "Historical Anti-Fascist Pasta of Casa Cervi," which is held every year at the Alcide Cervi Institute in Gattatico (Reggio Emilia). This commemoration is openly dedicated to sharing, coming together, and promoting the values of anti-fascism, freedom, justice, and democracy of the Cervi family.
The Institute has three rules for an event to be considered an "official anti-fascist pasta event": the pasta must be offered for free, keeping with the origin of the celebration (other beverages and menu items can be offered for a fee); the event must align with the values of anti-fascism, freedom, inclusion, equality, and justice; and during the event, the significance of the anti-fascist pasta and the teachings of the Cervi family must be remembered through words, videos, images, texts, or other means.
Last year, there were over two hundred "anti-fascist pasta events" throughout Italy, demonstrating the continued importance and relevance of this tradition in preserving the memory and values of the Cervi brothers.
U.S. army soldiers in Afghanistan in 2009
