He was born in Cireggio (today part of
Omegna), and during his high school studies, he made friends with philosophers
Eugenio Colorni and
Piero Martinetti, who influenced his thinking. From 1932, after graduating in
architecture, Beltrami established himself professionally in
Milan following in the footsteps of his paternal great-uncle, architect
Luca Beltrami, and in 1936, after less than three months of engagement, he married Giuliana Gadola, with whom he had three children, Luca, Giovanna and Michele. After the outbreak of the
Second World War, Beltrami was called up for military service and stationed as an officer in a
horse artillery regiment in
Lucca and
Piacenza. In the summer of 1943, after the
fall of the Fascist regime, Beltrami was promoted to
captain in the 27th Artillery Regiment, stationed in
Baggio. After the
armistice of Cassibile, Beltrami moved from Milan to his native Cireggio, in a family villa, along with his wife and children. Being known in the area for his anti-fascist ideas, he was soon approached by some young
Communists and quickly gathered a group of soldiers who had escaped the Germans, of which he assumed command, setting up a partisan group in the mountains of Valle Strona (southwestern
Ossola); by December the group had grown to about 200 partisans. In late January 1944, Beltrami's partisan group was repeatedly attacked by German and
Fascist forces, and was forced to split up and retreat from Valle Strona to the village of Megolo, a hamlet of
Pieve Vergonte. A German officer, sent from the German command of
Meina, offered him a
safe conduct in exchange for abandoning the fight, but Beltrami refused. In the morning of 13 February 1944, a column composed of troops of the
12th SS Police Regiment, led by Captain Ernst Simon, and of the
National Republican Guard, led by Captain Renato Vanna, attacked Beltrami's group, now down to thirteen men, in their provisional base, a group of abandoned huts near Megolo. Severely outnumbered and outgunned, after several hours of fighting, all partisans were killed, including Beltrami, his deputy Antonio Di Dio, and the
political commissar of the group, Gianni Citterio. Beltrami was posthumously awarded the
Gold Medal of Military Valor, and another partisan group, the "Beltrami" Alpine Brigade, was named after him. ==References==