Eighty Years On, Sisters Thank Gozo for Wartime Act of Mercy

More than 80 years after an Italian fighter pilot crash-landed in Gozo during World War II, his daughters have thanked the Gozitan villagers whose compassion saved his life — an act that ultimately shaped their own existence.

The story has been brought to light through the research of Matthew Curmi, whose book Waqa’ Ajruplon – Chronicles of Fallen Aircraft in Gozo documents wartime aircraft crashes and the untold human stories behind them.

One such story is that of Faliero Gelli, who was shot down on 27 July 1942 and crash-landed near Żebbuġ. Injured and dehydrated, Gelli was carried to safety by local villagers who provided food, water and basic medical care until authorities arrived.

Curmi retraced the route Gelli was forced to walk under the July sun to better understand the ordeal. He described the villagers’ actions as a reflection of a deep sense of humanity — seeing the person behind the enemy uniform.

After recovering, Gelli was held in prisoner-of-war camps in the UK and later the United States, where he met the woman he would marry. His daughters, Laura and Claudia, say the villagers’ kindness made their family’s story possible.

Eight decades later, the family hopes to visit Gozo to see where it all began, while Curmi hopes to one day return a piece of the aircraft to Gelli’s descendants.