Hero or traitor?
Carmelo borg Pisani believed that Malta's Latin and Italian soul was being destroyed by British rule. He also believed that the best opportunity to restore Malta to its original state was to expel this British rule. He said: "Malta is English just through usurpation, and I'm a British subject only as a result of this usurpation. But my real country is Italy". To this end, Pisani, along with many other Maltese "irredentisti" went to Italy, and 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 very myopic. Only by his tenacity and persistance, at last he was accepted in the MVSN (Blackshirts). After the war outbreak, in 1940, he decided to obtain Italian citizenship and gave up the British one. He returned the British passport through the American embassy in Rome, that represented the British interests in Italy. He participated in the Italian occupation of Kefallinia in Greece. Later he joined the SIM (Military Intelligence Service). On May 18, 1942, Pisani volunteered for a recon/spying mission to Malta, preliminary to the planned invasion. 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. The unusually inclement weather and the rough sea, however, washed all his possessions away within 48 hours. This fact forced Pisani to move inside the Island. Here, Pisani was recognized by one of his childhood friends, Cpt. Tom Warrington. He was transferred to Corradino prison, interrogated, and accused of treason. On November 12, 1942, he stood trial. His plea, that he had renounced British citizenship and passport for acquiring Italian citizenship, was not upheld, even if it was true. On November 19, 1942, he was sentenced to death for conspiring against His Majesty's government and for treason. His execution followed nine days later. Before being executed, he said: "I do not mind dying, but I am saddened by the lack of invasion of Malta by Italy". Borg Pisani was posthumously awarded the highest Italian military medal, the gold medal, by King Victor Emmanuel III a few days after his death. DVX
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://ww2incolor.com/gallery/italian-forces/42180/hero-or-traitor