Amilcare ‘Taro’ Debar (also Amilcare De Bar) was born on 16 June 1927 in Frossasco near Turin, Italy. His parents—Giovanni De Bar and Guiseppina De Colombi—died young, so at the age of three he and his younger sister Elvira were placed in a Catholic orphanage run by nuns. As a result, he lost contact with the other members of his family. He was then sent to the orphanage in Racconigi in the province of Cuneo, where he attended primary school and completed vocational training.
Partisan Activity
Amilcare Debar found work on the farm of a wealthy family in the Racconigi area. There he was contacted by members of the National Liberation Committee [Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, CNL]. At the age of just 17, he carried out his first missions as a partisan courier, delivering messages in the valleys of Cuneo. He then joined a section of the 48 Garibaldi Brigade, ‘Dante Di Nanni’ Battalion,1For Dante Di Nanni (1925–1944), see https://www.anpi.it/biografia/dante-di-nanni [accessed: 22/10/2024]. under the command of Pompeo Colajanni (1906–1987), who was known as Barbato.2For Pompeo Colajanni, see https://www.anpi.it/biografia/pompeo-colajanni [accessed: 22/10/2024]. Amilcare Debar took part in several actions between Montoso, Barge, Bagnolo Piemonte and the Infernotto Valley.3See http://cuneo.anpi.it/news/id75/antifascismi-oltre-confine [accessed: 22/10/2024]. After a few months, the Garibaldi Brigade moved its area of operations to the area between Monforte, Barolo and Serralunga and took part in the defence of the Partisan Republic of Alba from 10 October to 2 November 1944.4See the short note at https://web.archive.org/web/20160604094058/http://www.anpi.it/storia/146/ [accessed: 22/10/2024]. After retreating from Alba, the brigade went to Monforte and captured dozens of fascists, who were shot.5Cf. the interview with Amilcare Debar, conducted on 30 March 1984, partly also in Romanes: https://www.yumpu.com/it/document/read/65269699/i-sinti-piemontesi-le-sinti-piemontakeri [accessed: 22/10/2024]. Amilcare Debar then took part in the liberation of Turin, which took place from 26 to 28 April 1945.
After the Liberation
After World War II, Amilcare Debar became a policeman. During a police check, he stopped a family who had the same surname as him. He then decided to re-establish contact with his original social environment and to live with Sinti, among whom he is known as ‘Taro’ (Romanes for chubby).
In those years, travelling by caravan was made increasingly difficult by bans imposed by the mayors of many Italian cities. In the 1950s, Amilcare Debar came into contact with the painter Pinot Gallizio (1902–1964), who was very interested in the affairs and culture of ‘nomadi’. The artist decided to take direct action and start political campaigns. He gave the Sinti one of his plots of land on the banks of the River Tanaro in Alba so that they could stop there undisturbed.6For Pinot Giuseppe Gallizio, see https://www.cultweek.com/gallizio/ [accessed: 22/10/2024].
Throughout his life, Amilcare Debar campaigned for the rights of the Sinti and Roma, became president of the Piedmontese section of the Opera Nomadi association and took part in various national and international initiatives. He fought for decent caravan sites in the Piedmontese municipalities and moved to the ‘campo nomadi’ of Cerialdo in the province of Cuneo at the end of the 1970s.7Cf. https://sfi.usc.edu/education/roma-sinti/it/conosciamo-i-roma-e-i-sinti/chi-sono/nel-mondo-e-in-italia.php. The interview was conducted on 28 November 1998 in Cuneo by Giovanna Boursier (born 1966).
Honours
In the 1980s, he received an award from the President of the Italian Republic, Sandro Pertini (1896–1990), also a former partisan, certifying his ‘qualification as an Italian freedom fighter’ [Qualifica di Combattente per la Libertà d’Italia].
Amilcare Debar died on 12 December 2010 in Cuneo. On 25 April 2017, the National Association of Italian Partisans [Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d’Italia, ANPI] of Cuneo honoured him posthumously with a certificate commemorating his commitment to liberation from ‘Nazi-fascism’ and respect for the values of the constitution.8For the event, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xw41nb73luo [accessed: 22/10/2024]. The ceremony took place at the National Monument to the Resistance in Cuneo.
