La Vacanza

Excellent read. I bought this book as my husbands Grandfather ( Giosepi Cassettari) came to Scotland from Sommocolonia. A fantastic insight into the life in the region during the war.

For reasons that we many of us can readily imagine, the true story of the service and acts of heroism in World War II among the African-American troops of the U. S. Army ("Buffalo Soldiers") was "buried" for many years. The acts of supreme sacrifice by men such as Lieutenant John Fox from Ohio deserve to be told, appreciated, and celebrated. For decades these men were denied the recognition that they so richly deserved and earned; once "lost records" were found, seven of these men, including Lt. Fox, were belatedly granted the Congressional Medal of Honor.This true story comes from an unlikely source, an English boy who with his Mother returned to a tiny northern Tuscan village for their summer vacation with relatives there in 1940. Shortly after their arrival, the actions of Hitler and Mussolini made it impossible for them to leave until more than a year after the war was over.For these years, this young boy observed the impact of the war upon the residents of this isolated small town: first in trying to produce or acquire enough food or medical care to keep them alive, and finally in late 1944 -- at Christmas -- when the village becomes a focal point of the major battle that occurred on Tuscan soil during the entire war. His mother had assumed that they would be safe in this tiny remote village, but she became the first casualty of the war there when she sustained a serious head wound in an artillery bombardment.This is also an intimate story of village life and village people in this old community founded by the Romans -- Sommocolonia, Italy -- who ultimately were forced to endure the direct and terrible impacts of war when more than half of the houses and other buildings in the village were destroyed, changing their fates and their future.Sommocolonia of today, with fewer than 50 full-time residents, is still a lure to English-speaking people, most of whom have family ties to the village. Its high vantage point provides a magnificent view of the mountains that surround on all sides. But the real and horrible wounds of war, though superficially hidden, are still there for all to see, both in the buildings and in the families of the remaining residents.This is a compelling tale of real life in war by a man who as a young boy had a unique, unlikely, and unwelcome opportunity to observe first hand. It deserves to be read.

Excellent book, highly recommend.

A truly insightful and fascinating book about life in Tuscany under difficult conditions.Beautifully written and a pleasure to read.La Vacanza is a book to buy and savour - enjoy!