European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

At 8 the 26th Brigade would arrive to enter the city.

My duty was to blow up the bridges to stop the Germans,

then leave on the 24th and reach Buco del Signore.

We blew up all the bridges.

At 5 in the evening I was there with my unit.

I had left the mountains, a lovely family, and we were all crying for our separation…

The brigade arrived at 8. At 10 we headed out

and Luigi ordered me to place myself at the head of the brigade

to monitor the situation and proceed slowly to avoid mines or traps.

We entered the city slowly and arrived at the San Pietro gate.

We crossed the ring road and there was an Allied column on the road:

they were eating - we didn’t know what that was, chewing gum -

and you couldn’t hear them walking by as they had rubber under their shoes, while we made so much noise.

We went in from San Pietro and reached the centre.

Then we set up some outposts.

I went to eat with my unit and others

in a restaurant in Prampolini Square, where we had… a thin soup.

We were poisoned by all the cheese we had been eating.

We had eaten cheese and bread or bread and butter for months,

even though I was luckier since I was always moving around, on the hills, in the lowlands.