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Carmelo Borg Pisani Carmelo Borġ Pisani born in Cottonera in Malta on August 10, 1915 and executed at Corradino prison in Malta on November 28, 1942 at 07:34 a.m. remains until today a controversial person. Born into a very well respected Catholic and Nationalist Maltese family, he enrolled as a student at the Umberto Primo art lyceum, were he won a scholarship to study in Rome. When on June 10, 1940 war was declared, Borg Pisani was still attending the University of Arts in Rome. He believed that this opportunity, called upon by destiny, was also the best opportune moment for Malta to be liberated from the British and to once again find her Latin soul that was being destroyed by the British rule. To aid this cause Carmelo joined the Fascist party and the Black Shirt (Camicie Nere) movement together with many other Maltese students. This led him to participate in the Italian occupation of Kefallinia (also Cefalonia) in Greece with the Compagnia Speciale del Gruppo CC.NN. da sbarco della 50a Legione. On May 18, 1942 he was sent on a secret mission aimed to be the first spy on the island of Malta - until then the Axis had nobody there. He disembarked at Ras id-Dawwara - at the Dingli cliffs - and transferred all his rations to the cave, which he knew well from his youth. The unusually inclement weather with the rough sea, however, within 48 hours washed all his possessions away and he was forced to wave the British patrol boat. Rescued, he was transferred to the Military Hospital at Mtarfa. It was there where he was recognized by one of his childhood friends, Cpt. Tom Warrington, what led to his transfer to Corradino prison, interrogation and accusation of treason. He was put on trial on November 12. The public was excluded to avoid a possible hostile reaction of Maltese Fascists. Neither a popular jury - then and until now required according to the Maltese Legal Code - was formed. The judges refused to consider his renouncement of the British citizenship and passport, the acquisition of the Italian citizenship, moreover affirmed by his participation in the Italian Army and its war actions; in fact, his participation in Greece - the war ally of Britain - further aggravated his position. On November 19, he was condemned to death for conspiration against His Majesty government and for treason. His execution followed in nine days. Hardly a neutral point of view is still possible on Carmelo Borg Pisani - public opinion is still divided into two extreme standpoints. Was he a hero, a fighter for truly independent Malta, then in 1942 already occupied by Britain for about 142 years ? Was he a Mussolini puppet - in a sense of contemporary "Malta is an Italian Province" slogan and wanted just to exchange one ruler for another one ? Was his trial fair and impartial one ? And was not he a POW ? Some external links below show that these questions and Carmelo Borg Pisani's place in history of Malta are too often asked without any clear answers; and also in Italy. External links - http://www.carmeloborgpisani.20m.com/ in English and Maltese. Note the quote of Dom Mintoff, who served several times as the Prime Minister of Maltese government - in both British and independent times - evaluating C.Borg Pisani
- http://www.isses.it/borg.htm in Italian. More Maltese irredentists are mentioned there.
- http://www.marina.difesa.it/storia/movm/Parte06/MOVM6019.htm in Italian. "Medaglia d'oro al Valor Militare alla memoria" awarded to him after his death became known to the Fascists.
*http://www.monarchia.it/home.htm in Italian. In 2003 Maltese authorities allowed the Italian delegation to make a homage to the tomb of C. Borg Pisani - still inside Corradino prison.
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