Sometimes the Archive depositories preserve documents that seem to be the thing of novels and immediately capture the imagination of those who consult them. It doesn’t have to be anything too complicated. Just a photograph is enough to start asking questions and try to figure out who the people in it are.
Despite the summer heat, he put on thick black tights. It was the only way to conceal the hair on his legs. Then he chose a full skirt so that the volume of his crotch wouldn’t give him away. And, to ensure maximum protection, he added an apron on top. He studied himself carefully in the mirror. One final feminine touch was needed to make the disguise more convincing. He tied a scarf around his neck, added discreet stud earrings, and a touch of make-up. For the first time, that round, flabby, beardless face worked to his advantage.
It was time to check if the costume worked. He went out on the street. He wasn’t entirely confident. There was a lot at stake. However, he quickly realised that no one was paying him much attention. If anything, it even seemed that an older man was smiling kindly at him. Photograph of Luigi Morini Boveri, accompanied by a motorcyclist, Barcelona [1936–1938]. On the back: “Luis Morini Boveri in Barcelona”.
The city was filled with a tense sort of euphoria. In Barcelona, the insurgent military forces had been stopped, and there was a sense of victory, but also deep suspicion toward those who might sympathise with General Franco. He knew perfectly well that if they identified him, he was a dead man.
He had arrived in the city in 1930 as head of the information service at the Italian consulate, a very elegant way of saying he was in charge of espionage in Catalonia. His primary mission was to monitor the movements of his compatriots residing in Barcelona to detect possible groups opposed to Mussolini. The work had caused few headaches until that July, when the Duce supported the Spanish coup, and Catalan anti-fascists had put the consulate’s diplomats in the cross hairs. Many escaped and returned to Italy, but Luigi Morini Boveri chose to stay to continue his mission. Disguised as a woman.
Note from a friend of Morini: “Gigi, the memory of the friendship in the distant, sad nights of the bivouacs will not fade with time or distance. Flight knows no borders, no remoteness, no limits. Enzo”.
At least, that is what he declared before the Provincial Court of Barcelona in October 1944. The previous July, he had been arrested on charges of fraud, and to win the court’s favour (and secure an acquittal), he invoked his loyalty to the Franco regime. To prove he was a die-hard fascist, he submitted as evidence a photograph showing him dressed as a woman alongside a figure who has not been identified. He claimed the disguise had been a means to save his life and continue serving the cause of Franco and Mussolini. Whether it was the impact of the image on the judge, ideological sympathy, or simply a lack of evidence, the result was that Morini was declared innocent.
The most extraordinary part of this story is that the Italian spy’s file was later found at the Roses Municipal Archive, without anyone being able to explain how it arrived there. It should be remembered that, due to its proximity to the French border, the Empordà town was a strategically significant location during both the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War.
A note of friendship from an Italian citizen reads: “onwards an upwards! It is my sincere wish for a genuine and enduring friendship”.
Many questions remain unanswered: why would a spy, trying to remain inconspicuous, allow himself to be photographed in a disguise that was supposedly meant to conceal him? Who took the photograph? Who is the mysterious companion beside him? Did he really wear that outfit to avoid detection? Or was there another reason to don stockings, a skirt, an apron, and earrings in July 1936? It is also unclear whether the fraud alleged at the trial was genuine or merely a false accusation by the new consulate officials, eager to rid themselves of a fascist once Mussolini’s regime had fallen.
Many of these mysteries will likely only be solved when someone begins to thoroughly examine the documents. While we await the arrival of some intrepid researcher willing to uncover the explanation behind the enigma of the disguised spy, his file will remain in the custody of the Roses Archive, photograph of Morini included.
If you wish to consult the original document on which this story is based, ask for the file CAT AMR 1.1, Roses Municipal Archive, file on the request to dismiss the order of expulsion from Spain of Luigi Morini Boveri, 24 October 1944.
Photo: CAT AMR 1.1, Roses Municipal Archive, file on the request to dismiss the order of expulsion from Spain of Luigi Morini Boveri, 24 October 1944.
