The only son of Guido Zilli and the Austrian baroness Nelda Weigelsberg,
Anto Zilli was born on
9 January 1922 in
Fontanafredda.
Enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine and Chemistry at the University of Padua, during his final year of studies he joined the Resistance in the
5th Osoppo Brigade under the nom de guerre “
Guido”. As a trainee at the Pordenone Hospital, just like
Bruno Barzotto, he became part of the
clandestine network that treated wounded and sick partisans.
On 15 December 1944, in order to force Anto to surrender, the SS arrested his father and his uncle in Fontanafredda and, three days later, also his mother.
According to some accounts, Anto Zilli turned himself in in exchange for the release of his family; according to others, he fell into an ambush while returning home to verify the truth of their arrest.
In any case, he was
tortured for more than a week and then
executed by firing squad on 23 December 1944 in Giais di Aviano by an SS execution squad commanded by medical lieutenant Alfred Dörnenburg.
His mother remained imprisoned in the Pordenone jail even after his death, until 13 January 1945.
