by Gianfranco Petrillo – This is the first part of an essay that describes the long and very active life of Barbara Allason (1877-1968), author, translator, militant member of the underground anti-Fascist movement Giustizia e Libertà (Justice and Freedom), and that of her niece Anita Rho (1906-1980), also an anti-Fascist and renowned translator of important works of 20th century German literature.