Lenuccia Cerasuolo

Maddalena Cerasuolo, affectionately called Lenuccia, was born in Naples on 2 February 1920 into a working-class family in the Stella district. She was the daughter of Carlo Cerasuolo, a chef decorated for military valor for his exploits in the First World War, and Annunziata Capuozzo. Raised together with five sisters and two brothers, Maddalena lived her youth in a family environment marked by strong values and a severe but loving education. During the Second World War, his father Carlo became an active anti-fascist, was registered and imprisoned several times for his opposition to the regime. When the war broke out, Maddalena was twenty years old and worked as a "shoe maker" worker. But his life changed radically after the armistice of 8 September 1943. In the days that followed, the young Neapolitan spontaneously joined the group of "arms seekers", engaging in the search for armaments in abandoned barracks and depots. During the famous "Four Days of Naples" (27-30 September 1943), Maddalena stood out for her exceptional courage. He took part in the armed clashes in the Materdei district to prevent the Germans from plundering a shoe factory in Vico delle Trone, where the Nazis had barricaded themselves, threatening to detonate charges. On that occasion, Maddalena volunteered to go on solitary reconnaissance and subsequently to act “as a parliamentarian” with the German officers, delivering a written request for surrender, despite the risk that the rights enshrined in the Geneva Conventions were not recognized. But the most significant episode was his participation in the defense of the Ponte della Sanità, fighting alongside his father Carlo and the partisans of the Materdei and Stella districts. The bridge, strategically important for access to the city and for the Neapolitan aqueduct, had been mined by the Germans. Maddalena participated in armed rifle combat, contributing decisively to the protection of this vital infrastructure. For this act of valor she received the bronze medal for military valor and was invited to the Royal Palace by General Montgomery, who embraced her as a sign of recognition. However, the war was not over for Maddalena. After the liberation of Naples, she was contacted by the British secret services and began to collaborate with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) under the nom de guerre "Maria Esposito" and acronym "C22". From 21 October 1943 to 8 February 1944 he participated in the "Hillside II" and "Kelvin" missions. In SOE records she is described as a woman who "took a conspicuous part in the Naples insurrection, helped in the construction of barricades and participated in combat with rifle and grenades". After the war, Maddalena married taking the surname Morgese and had four children: Carlo, Gaetana, Gennaro and Patrizia. He continued to carry forward the memory of the exploits of the Resistance, participating in commemorative events and meeting various personalities, including President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. He also wrote a poem called "La Mitraglietta" in which he recounted his experience as a fighter: "But on the twenty-eight of the same month the people rose up against the massacre and the abuse of power, and I was also behind the barricade, a girl full of love of country. I found a submachine gun and fired, fired, fired at the vans and tanks..." Maddalena Cerasuolo died in Naples on 23 October 1999, aged 79. After his death, his children continued to carry on the memory of his values and deeds. In 2000 the mayor Rosa Russo Iervolino discovered a commemorative plaque commemorating her as "the extraordinary Lenuccia heroine of the four days of 1943". In 2011 the municipal council of Naples named the bridge overlooking the Sanità district after Maddalena Cerasuolo, the very one she had helped defend during the war. Since 2012 there has been a cultural association that bears his name and which establishes an award in his memory. The story of Maddalena Cerasuolo represents the courage and determination of many Neapolitan women who participated in the Resistance, often remaining in the shadow of official history. His life demonstrates how ordinary people, moved by ideals of freedom and justice, can make extraordinary gestures and contribute decisively to the liberation of their country.