She was the first Italian woman to parachute in wartime when the Allies entrusted her with the conclusion of the special Bigelow mission and, after receiving the gold medal for military valor, this summer she was awarded the rank of Grand Officer of the Republic Italian. The partisan Paola Del Din, gritty and determined, turned 99 a few days ago. And today the Friulian daily Messaggero Veneto dedicates an article to her on the front page.
After the war, Del Din graduated in Padua, taught literature in Friuli and in the United States, then returned to Italy to teach. Furthermore, she has always met students and participated in events and commemorations to reaffirm the importance of freedom. The Municipality of Udine has given her the seal of the city, in September she will receive the honorary citizenship of the municipality of Tavagnacco (Udine). To Messaggero Veneto, however, she explained that her greatest pride is her 4 children: “What’s the point of fighting a lot if we don’t pass on what we have learned to anyone”. She was touched “by the images coming from Ukraine”, while maintaining that “we are all against war”, does not mean “that we must avoid sending weapons to those who have to defend themselves”.
Daughter of an Alpine general, Paola Del Din was born in Pieve di Cadore in 1923 and arrived in Udine 10 years later; her brother Renato fell on April 25, 1944 during the assault on a Nazi-Fascist garrison in Tolmezzo. She, nickname Renata, distinguished herself in several delicate operations and after an experience in Florence, she returned to Friuli by parachuting in the Colloredo di Montealbano area. On vacation in Sappada (Udine), she fought as always she announces that, even though she no longer drives, she will be “in Udine to vote on September 25” and has invited young people to commit their freedom.
Source: Ansa
I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years now and I have worked for some of the biggest news websites in the world. My focus has always been on entertainment news, but I also cover a range of other topics. I am currently an author at Global happenings and I love writing about all things pop-culture related.
