[1][2] As one of five children of committed antifascist lawyer Gustavo Terradura and his wife Laura, she witnessed her father's harassment and imprisonment several times during her youth.

Her contemptuous attitude towards the fascist regime in Italy at the time earned her repeated admonishments at school and interrogations at the police headquarters.

In January 1944, when agents of the OVRA raided her home looking to arrest her father, she hid him and they subsequently fled to the Monti del Burano to join partisan formations in that area.

Terradura specialized in mines and explosives, undertaking operations to destroy bridges to hinder the movements of the German Nazi and Italian fascist armies.

[6] By presidential decree on 26 June 1970, Terradura's citation for military valour notes: A woman with a strong and generous spirit, she joined the partisan formations in her region despite her young age, bringing enthusiasm and confidence.