Francesco Rismondo

Francesco Rismondo (1885 – 1915) was an Austrian-born Italian irredentist and decorated military volunteer.[1]

Francesco Rismondo
Born	(1885-04-15)15 April 1885 Austrian Dalmatia
Died	August 10, 1915(1915-08-10) (aged 30) Gorizia?
Allegiance	Italy
Service/branch	Italian Army
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Silver Medal of Military Valour

Inscribed cippus for Francesco Rismondo in Monte San Michele

Rismondo was born in Split-Spalato, when this town was in Austrian Dalmatia, from a very wealthy Dalmatian Italian family: his father was a ship-owner. He was a cycling enthusiast and as such also became president of the Associazione Veloce (Fast Club) in Split. After his business studies at the University of Graz, he practiced in UK and became manager in the agency of the Società di navigazione Dalmazia (Dalmatian Navigation Company), owned by his father.

In 1915, a few weeks before the Italian intervention in World War I, Rismondo entered, with his wife under a false name, in Kingdom of Italy and on June 16 he enlisted as a volunteer in the Italian Army to fight in war against Austria-Hungary. Initially Rismondo was chosen for an interpreter work thanks to his linguistic knowledge, but he insisted on being assigned to the front and it was thus that he was incorporated into the 8th cyclist battalion of the VIII Bersaglieri regiment and sent to the Karst front, where he distinguished himself on Monte San Michele on July 21.

His death is still unclear; he was reported missing by the army, and was probably wounded in a fight near Opatje Selo and became an Austrian prisoner. According to some sources, he was recognized as a deserter: he was betrayed by a snuffbox, with a dedication, and executed by hanging on 10 August 1915, probably in Gorizia. According to other sources, he tried to escape at in Opatija-Abbazia with a group of prisoners during an Italian attack and was killed by the guards during the attempt. However, his body was never found, nor a written document proving the possible death sentence; Gabriele D'Annunzio called him the Assumption of Dalmatia. During the initial post-war period, the popular belief in Rismondo as a martyr became national lore and he was posthumously awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valour.