Monteleone di Puglia

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Monteleone di Puglia is a mountain town with a population of about 1,000 inhabitants[1]. The town is located in the province of Foggia, part of the Puglia region of southern Italy.

Monteleone coat of arms

View of Monteleone from a distance.

Sign on the main road into the town.

In the years following World War II, a large number of expatriates and their descendants have established a thriving community in Toronto, Canada.

[edit] Revolt of 1942

In 1942, southern Italy was on the verge of social, economic, and political collapse. Many men were sent to fight in World War II for the Italian army, and the wives of those soldiers were left behind in misery, rage, and hunger. The event that sparked the revolt of the women of Monteleone was the arrogance of a Carabinieri officer who confiscated a pot of corn flour that was being carried to a local bakery by three women. The women resisted, pleading with the officer. The women were brought by the officer to the Fascist regime-appointed mayor. The mayor sided with the officer, and the women were promptly jailed in a warehouse filled with cheese and other foods. The jailed women set the warehouse on fire and escaped. Upon hearing of the hoards of food being stored by the Carabinieri while the people were hungry an angry mob formed and the Carabinieri office was stormed. Police had trouble controlling the riot, and fired warning shots into the air. Soon after, police began firing bullets towards the crowd. Eventually, the citizens of Monteleone - armed with clubs and pitchforks - was subdued. Overall, 180 citizens were arrested and detained. Most rioters arrested had to serve a prison sentence anywhere from a few days to 15 months.[2]

This revolt was the first of its kind in Italy during the Second World War.