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difficult years, his lucidity, nor did he allow the events, party had a scanty membership in Florence (many of
as much as it was possible, to persuade him to abandon the members were initially opposed to the idea of
himself in a torpid and disoriented state that creates a participating in the fight and had opposing political
sense that the future is hopeless. Thus, in the beginning views) that was difficult to efficiently organize
of the 40’s, he bought a share in a business, owned by a militarily.To this must be added that, as opposed to the
friend that he met in the Porta Romana School, that Communist and Socialist Parties, the establishment of a
produced bricks and roof tiles in Impruneta. The fact popular front in the area was practically non existent,
that his own studio was dangerously close to the train and therefore it was extremely difficult to find men
tracks, a foreseeable target for enemy bombing, pushed disposed to fully dedicating themselves to taking up
him to make this decision. Aware of the possibility that arms. Even so, the necessity to contribute to the
he could, at any moment, lose everything, he felt that it Resistance with ones own means and abilities – also in
was necessary to invest in an activity that, once the view of a future participation in the political life of the
conflict ended, could perhaps allow him to start over. city, once the Nazi-fascist occupation was over - made
Also for this reason, he rented one of the basement it so that different squads were organized, commanded
room of Palazzo Ferroni, in the center of Florence, by Giacomo Corda and the Lieutenant Enzo Valori.
which was the rented at the time to the Italian Fencing Renato Fantoni worked primarily at the collection
Society, in which he stored a large part of his ceramics of weapons,the establishing of contacts with the leaders
created in the preceding years in order to safeguard of the other parties and the allied command, and also
them from destruction. counter-espionage. Thus, he was a particularly active
It was a wise choice because only for a lucky element and his children, who shared his ideals,
coincidence was his workshop at Villa Fabbricotti embraced the cause fully and followed his example as
spared from destruction. The first bombs launched fell much as they could. Gianni and Marcello helped him
precisely in that area, and several palazzos very near the to find what was necessary to sustain the fighters:
workshop and also near to the house where Fantoni ammunitions, medical supplies, food, signaling lights,
was living with his family, were completely destroyed. newspapers and money. They had to do most of this
This is an aspect of Fantoni’s thinking that we must work because the most well know members of the
underscore because it give us a chance to observe that, party, in particular Artom and Medici Tornaquinci,
parallel to his dedication to the fight for Liberation in were much less able to move about freely because the
which as we will see he was an active participant, he police were constantly looking for them. We can not
never lost sight of his true vocation, that of being an leave out that Renato was involved in the editing –
artist. In the years of the war, where everything hung together with Artom,Aristo Ciruzzi and Sergio Lepri –
by a thin thread,from the places where people lived and of the “L’Opinion”the Liberal Party’s newspaper which
worked and to their very lives, Fantoni fought in order was an important vehicle in the dissemination of the
to be able to return to dedicate himself to his work, liberal program and condition of the T.C.N.L. (Tuscan
well aware of the fact that only in this way could he Committee for National Liberation) particularly after
truly fulfill himself. the newspaper “L’Nazione” was shut down.
It is in this light that we must read his commitment Furthermore, the newspaper was posted on the street
to the Tuscan Committee for Liberation: without corner walls which gave the general public access to
political motivations, desire for personal gains, and practical information like where to find water and
perhaps even without great passion. Fantoni often other primary necessities.
asserts that he participated only because it was That which concerns precisely Marcello’s personal
necessary, because he found himself in the cogs of that commitment, it must be said, is that his workshop on
machine. But, once he embraced the cause, his Via Lanzi and his warehouse in Villa Ferroni were used
contribution was complete and valuable, as was that of as hiding places for the ammunitions for the Resistance
his father Renato, his brother Gianni and, not to and occasionally as headquarters for the Florentine
mention, his sister Grazia who often worked as a Liberation Committee. The weapons were hidden on
currier between group of partisans. the upper shelves of the underground warehouse,
It was actually Renato, for many years an hidden from view by ceramic vases that Fantoni was
important exponent of the Florentine Liberal Party, producing at that time. Marcello himself saw to the
who involved his children in the partisan fight.Already, distribution of the arms to the fighters, transporting
from the first months of 1943, certain Liberals -among them from one end of the city to the other. He
whom were the Marchese Aldobrando Medici remembers exactly, one day in the summer of 1944,
Tornaquinci, Guglielmo di San Giorgio, Eugenio while disguised as coal merchant, that with a small cart
Artom and Renato Fantoni himself, began to face the he was transporting, in sacs, ammunitions and rifles
problem of the party members’ participation in the hidden by his ceramics.When he arrived at the Santa
fight for Liberation. It wasn’t an easy job, because the Trinità bridge one of the sacs broke open and the

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