The Abruzzo region was barely touched by the First World War - it suffered nothing more than the occasional bombardment of the coast by the Austrian Imperial Navy. The Second World War was a far more frightening affair and for several months the region was a battlefield. In the Sangro, Aventino and Moro valleys, Montgomery’s Eighth Army, recently arrived from North Africa, engaged Kesselring’s forces as they retreated northwards.

Gessopalena was a casualty in the encounter: at first caught behind the German front line, then in no man’s land, and finally behind the Allies’ front line.

Manzoni tells us that history is a war against time the destroyer, so the testimonies of those who suffered during those terrible days are published here so that the material will be preserved for present and future generations and the sacrifice of the people of this part of Abruzzo will not be forgotten.

Much of the credit for the publication of this material should go to Gino Melchiorre, whose deep affection for his native region is evident in all his writing.

What happened during those terrible months can never be erased from the memories of the survivors, but the ghost of the past can also be seen in the haunting ruins of the Old Village and Sant’Agata.

War, even when it is not conducted by barbarians, makes barbarians of ordinary people. But this did not happen in Gessopalena. The terrible experiences of war have left no trace of moral contamination. The people of Abruzzo, as Benedetto Croce wrote, kept their Christianity. Countless acts of self-sacrifice and human solidarity took place during those dark days of pain and humiliation. The tears which fell from the eyes of so many in those distant days still shine like diamonds in the memories of those who shed them and saw them shed.

We hope that these eye-witness accounts will help the reader both to remember and to mourn, but more importantly to reaffirm that war must be rejected as a means of resolving differences between nations. That’s the special responsibility of diplomats and statesmen.

Giovanni Nativio