The history of the Picardi family is marked by harassment, terror, and hunger. First was the anarchist grandfather, constantly on the run, then the father of brothers Licinio and Eliseo, who was persecuted and repeatedly arrested, living on precarious work. The family always kept their suitcases packed and followed the father wherever he found work: in Piedmont, Monza, Clusone, and finally Sesto San Giovanni. The values of justice and equality were part of their upbringing; their mother raised them by explaining the reasons behind their father’s arrests each time.

Licinio and Eliseo, the eldest, soon found work at Falck and studied in the evenings to earn a diploma. Both immediately committed themselves to propaganda and the organization of the Resistance. When the atmosphere inside the factory became more dangerous after September 8, they—like many young militants—took to the mountains, stationing themselves in Val Seriana.

Unfortunately, tracked down at their refuge in Bratto della Presolana, both brothers were arrested on November 16, 1943. Sent first to the Clusone prison, they were then held at San Vittore for more than three months. They departed together from Platform 21 in Milan toward Mauthausen on March 4, 1944. Registered as numbers 57614 and 57615, they were immediately sent to Ebensee, assigned to the Kommando Zement, where giant tunnels were being excavated into the mountain to house the Experimental Missile Center, sheltered from air raids.

The prisoners lived in subhuman conditions, subjected to unspeakable labor. Despite his young age, Eliseo endured until March 29, 1945. Licinio managed to return to Italy but died of tuberculosis a few months later.