Carmelo Borg Pisani
| Carmelo Borg Pisani | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Italy
|
| Service | SIM |
| Active | 1941–1942 |
| Award(s) | Gold Medal of Military Valour |
|
|
|
| Born |
10 August 1915 Senglea, Malta |
| Died | 28 November 1942 (aged 27) Paola, Malta |
| Cause of death |
Execution by hanging |
| Nationality | Maltese Italian |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Carmelo Borg Pisani (10 August 1915 – 28 November 1942) was a Maltese-born artist and Italian Fascist who, on being discovered during an espionage mission in Malta, was found guilty by a British war tribunal and executed for alleged treason.
Born into a very well respected Maltese family in Senglea, Pisani enrolled as a student at the Umberto Primo art lyceum, where he won a scholarship to study in Rome. In Italy he showed support for fascism and Italian irredentism.
When war was declared on 10 June 1940, Pisani was still attending the Accademia di Belle Arti ("Academy of Fine Arts") in Rome. Other prominent Maltese artist such as Emvin Cremona were also attending the same school along with Borg Pisani at the time.
Pisani believed that Malta's Latin soul was being destroyed by British rule. He also believed that the best opportunity to restore Malta to its original state was to expel the British and unite the island to the kingdom of Italy. To this end, Pisani, along with many other Maltese students in Italy, joined the National Fascist Party. After the outbreak of the war, he volunteered for service in the Italian army, but was refused because he was myopic. This led him to join the MVSN (Blackshirts).
He decided to obtain Italian citizenship in 1940 and give up his British citizenship. He returned the British passport through the American embassy in Rome. He participated in the Italian occupation of Kefallinia in Greece with the Compagnia Speciale del Gruppo CC.NN. da sbarco della 50a Legione. He joined also the SIM (Servizio Informazioni Militari, i.e. Military Intelligence Service)
On 18 May 1942 Pisani volunteered for an espionage mission to Malta, to help prepare for the planned Axis invasion of the island (Operation Herkules). Pisani disembarked at the Dingli Cliffs in Ras id-Dawwara, and transferred all his rations to a cave, which he knew well from his youth. Unusually inclement weather and a rough sea, however, washed all his possessions away within 48 hours and he was forced to wave down a British patrol boat. Upon rescue, he was brought to RNH Mtarfa, the naval hospital at Mtarfa.
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