GALLARATE – “An example, a point of reference for the many women victims of violence and abuse”. This is how Stefano Romano, president of the local branch of Fratelli d’Italia, remembers Norma Cossetto. The Istrian student, who was killed in 1943 by the Slavic partisans, was honored today – October 7th – by the party’s activists with a brief ceremony held in Piazza Martiri delle Foibe in Gallarate.
The memory of Norma Cossetto
White roses were offered to the young Istrian student, in a moment that saw the presence of Fratelli d’Italia activists and institutional representatives. “On the eightieth anniversary of her death, we want to remember the figure of Norma, a very young woman who, with determination and courage even in the face of death, did not give in and refused to renounce her identity and her values”, said Romano. “Today she represents an example, a point of reference for the many women victims of violence and abuse. A 23-year-old Istrian student, she was killed by Tito’s Slavic partisans on the night between October 4th and 5th, 1943, and today she is the symbol of courageous women who have lost their lives in the name of a higher good”.
The Medal of Civil Merit
On December 9th, 2005, the then President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, awarded the Gold Medal of Civil Merit to the memory of Norma Cossetto. The words that accompanied the award were: “A young Italian student, captured and imprisoned by the Slavic partisans, she was long tortured and raped by her captors and then barbarically thrown into a foiba. A luminous testimony of courage and love for the homeland”. Romano concludes: “We bow to that courage and to that love for the homeland and offer our tribute”.
