Let's face it: one of the worst things in the world is to visit a village and have no idea of the history behind the names of the streets, the squares, the districts, the parks.

Each name is a story, a testimony of a life that passed by there.

There are places with curious names on Lake Como, all to be discovered: just think of Via Labirinto in Brienno (whose historic center is indeed a labyrinth!), Via Comoedia in Lenno (which honors poet Plinio’s villa), Via Bellini in Moltrasio (because the composer loved to stay there), Parco Chiesa Rotta in Abbadia (so called because once there was a church which was later deconsecrated, that is "broken"), Via Leone Leoni (which is not a play on words, rather the name of a great sculptor born in Menaggio) ... and the list goes on and on.

Today we want to bring your attention to a young man in whose memory one of the most spectacular parks of Lake Como, the Teresio Olivelli Civic Park in Tremezzo, has been entitled. You have necessarily been in this elegant park if you’ve visited the central coasts of Lake Como: we are talking about a magnificent waterfront botanical jewel, with a majestic monumental staircase designed by the rationalist architect Lingeri in 1925.

But why such a majestic park to commemorate Teresio Olivelli? Who was him?

If you don’t know at all (although you’ve taken at least one pretty selfie in the beautiful park that bears his name), well, it’s definitely time to fix this lack of local knowledge: we have summarized for you below 4 facts you should know about Teresio Olivelli.

#1 The very first consecrated partisan of Italy

© www.teresioolivelli.com | Teresio (third from left) with his family

Teresio Olivelli (born in Bellagio, but with his beloved paternal uncle living in Tremezzo) has been the first partisan in Italy to be beatified.

At the age of 29, in January 1945, Teresio died in the Nazi concentration camp of Hersbruck, victim of a violent beating for having defended a Ukrainian prisoner.

The Church has defined Teresio a "martyr of charity”: according to countless testimonies of fellow prisoners, Teresio always tried to protect his fellows even putting his life at risk.

In this sense, he has been an example of altruism and noble humanity that cannot be forgotten.

Teresio, a Catholic intellectual, had naively joined Fascism ideals in his youth, like many young people of his age often misled by propaganda; he changed his mind after the defeat on the Russian front.

#2 The author of “The prayer of the rebel”, an unforgettable proof of humanism

After September 8, 1943, Teresio joined the Resistance. He founded the clandestine anti-fascist newspaper Il Ribelle (distributed around Milan by many courageous women); on those pages, in 1944, he published his famous “Prayer of the rebel".

Someone considers this prayer the highest spiritual expression of the Italian Resistance, for it speaks of love for man and for justice.

Teresio calls his companions "rebels for love”, because they’re rebel for the love of freedom.

"Rebels, as they call us, so we are, so we want to be, but ours is above all a moral revolt. It’s directed against a system and an era, against a way of thinking, against a conception of life. There are not liberators, there are only men who free themselves”.

Teresio seems to suggest us that to believe in freedom, we must keep believing in man.

#3 The youngest dean of Italy

At the age of 27, Teresio is appointed as dean of Ghislieri College in Pavia, where he had studied.

© www.teresioolivelli.com | Teresio with his fellows in Vigevano

He is formally the youngest dean of Italy for his time!

© www.teresioolivelli.com - Teresio with his fellows in Ghislieri College, Pavia

#4 “I moved my life impetuously”

Last but not least, we think what he wrote in his last will deserves a mention: “I moved my life impetuously”. A beautiful, gentle reminder of the positive energy that we should all have in our lives.

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Who Was Teresio Olivelli? 4 Things To Know About The Man To Whom Tremezzo Park Is Dedicated

#1 The very first consecrated partisan of Italy

#2 The author of “The prayer of the rebel”, an unforgettable proof of humanism

#3 The youngest dean of Italy

#4 “I moved my life impetuously”