Historical Context
We are standing in front of the stumbling stone dedicated to Aldo Ghezzi. The small brass plaque bears the name, essential biographical details, and tragic fate of Aldo Ghezzi, a partisan of the "Garibaldi" Brigade, deported to the Ebensee concentration camp, where he died of hardship. It represents one of the stumbling stones (Stolpersteine) that are part of the largest decentralized and participatory memorial project in Europe dedicated to the victims of National Socialism, conceived by the German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992.
The spread of these stones in Italy, and particularly in the province of Bergamo, began on January 17, 2016, with the installation of the stone dedicated to Don Antonio Seghezzi, marking an important step in the often delayed and fragmented process of developing a widespread memory across the country.
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Why it is a place of memory
The stumbling stone dedicated to Aldo Ghezzi transforms the sidewalk of Via Pignolo 42 into a true place of memory. Unlike a commemorative monument placed in an exceptional space (such as a square or a museum), it is a discreet sign integrated into everyday urban life. Its strength lies precisely in this integration: it is not intentionally visited, but rather one "stumbles" upon it by chance, both physically and mentally, during daily routines, creating a symbolic interruption that prompts reflection.
This gesture stands in direct opposition to the dehumanizing logic of the concentration camps, which aimed at anonymous annihilation.
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Multimedia Content
Plaque commemorating Aldo Ghezzi, deported and killed by the Nazis.
In-depth: Gunter Demnig and the Stolpersteine project
Stumbling stones are small square blocks covered with brass, placed in front of the homes where people lived before being deported and killed in extermination camps.
The artist who created the Stolpersteine is Gunter Demnig, born in Germany in 1947. He began this project in 1992, when he was already an established artist. He felt the need to dedicate his work to the memory of victims of Nazism and Fascism in Europe, transforming art into a tool of civic testimony.
The first stumbling stone was laid in 1992 in Cologne, to commemorate the deportation of Roma and Sinti people from the city. On that occasion, an episode deeply affected Demnig: a woman from the neighborhood, who had lived there during the deportations, claimed that Roma and Sinti had never lived there, revealing how easily memory can be erased, ignored, or removed. Since then, more than 100,000 stones have been installed across many European countries, over a thousand of which are in Italy.
Each stone is part of a unified project: it is marked on official maps and must follow precise criteria, maintaining coherence and uniqueness. It includes the victim’s name and surname, date of birth, date of deportation, and, when known, date of death. Jews, Roma and Sinti, political opponents, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and people with disabilities: all groups persecuted by Nazism are represented in this memorial project.
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Sources
Bibliographic sources
- Mario Pelliccioli, Itinerari di memoria. Un percorso a Bergamo tra fascismo, occupazione tedesca e Resistenza, Moltefedi Achille Grandi Editore, Bergamo 2023
Multimedia sources
- Official project website Stolpersteine.
- Image 1: Project photographic archive, class 5IG Itis P. Paleocapa
- Video: Bergamo News editorial team, The anti-monument that invites remembrance: Gunter Demnig’s Stolpersteine in Bergamo, Bergamo News