This is the recounting and the diary of my life - Marino Mattei

18.

I was very happy to be home but I was worried about Stefano [his brother - see part 17] because we hadn't received any news and we had no idea what had become of him. Also, the war was not over. The Americans landed in Italy and they were advancing. The Russians were nearing Germany and Africa was already occupied by the English and Americans. In a word, we had many worries and concerns because we did not know how things would turn out. Additionally, I had to find myself a job.

I took my work papers to Fornaci and, in fact, I was soon hired by the Italian Metallurgical Society at Fornaci of Barga [both his mother and father worked here in the past - see part 1 and part 17]. The Americans continued their bombing campaign across Italy and Germany. Thousands of bombers flew over us every day, giving us no peace. I, who knew what war was like, was left greatly affected by this. The situation became increasingly more critical and smaller planes began to bomb and strafe the metallurgical plant. I was very frightened because after having survived all my hardships I felt it would have been awful to die at home. Due to this, I decided to quit working for the Germans who were fortifying their position near Bargiglio. The job required me to leave on Monday and return on Saturday. [He is somewhat unclear on this point. From his writing I am unsure if this was part of his duties at the metallurgical plant or if it was a separate occupation.] At the same time, I began to experience arthritic pains in my feet. I wanted to stop working but we were always on the move and the Germans did not allow me to leave. There was also the possibility of being taken back to Germany as a prisoner and, as a result, I did everything I could to get out of this work.

Since I was suffering from arthritis I was sent to Borgo a Mozzano for a medical examination, again performed by the Germans, after which I was permitted to quit the job. By now the Americans were closing in and they soon arrived in Ghivizzano and Coreglia [the two villages on either side of his village of Gromignana]. The Germans occupied S. Bucologna [I could not find information on the exact location of this city] and we remained in this situation for eight months. This was because a small number of German soldiers were mounting a resistance in Monte Cassino and the Americans were unable to defeat them [for details, see "Battle of Monte Cassino" at wikipedia.org].

After a few months, while the Americans were in Coreglia, Marta [see part 6] and I decided to get married and, in fact, on May 27, 1944 we were wed. We went to live at Colle in the house of Domenico [in Gromignana]. We had asked for a house from Santina and the Priest but we couldn't afford the rent. It was a small wedding attended by close relatives. We also had a simple celebratory breakfast. Everyone was happy that finally, after many [family] arguments, we'd arrived at a conclusion. They rang the church bells as if it was a great feast, which had not been done for anyone before. I do not want to write about my conjugal life because the recounting would be too lengthy.

Marino and Marta Mattei, circa 1944

The war continued. Aside from the Americans we had to contend with the Partisans [the Italian resistance movement] who committed many atrocities. They would kidnap individuals without reason other than for personal vendettas. They murdered people as if it meant nothing. At that time Pietrino [the husband of Marta's sister, Libia - see part 6] was the secretary of the Fascist Party [presumably in Coreglia]. I don't know why he took this position in such a difficult and dangerous moment. There were many who wanted to kill him. They, as I said, had no real reason to do this but there was no central command in Italy and everyone was taking the law into their own hands. This is particularly true of the Partisans, 90 percent of which were criminals. [Since this is a first-hand account, it is difficult see the motivation in its being intentionally inaccurate. However, for an overview of the Partisan movement, please see "Italian resistance movement" at wikipedia.org]. Due to these circumstances, Marta's sister Libia and her mother insisted that we return to live with them at the Case del Rosso [in Gromignana] so that we could all be together.

The front stopped advancing without a seeming resolution. One night, without warning, we received orders to evacuate immediately. The Americans had spotted someone sending signals from the Metate [a high altitudinal point in the village of Gromignana] to the Germans who, as I said, occupied S. Bucologna, Barga and all of Garfagnana [the name for the particular region of Tuscany where they were located]. There was great confusion because we did not know where to go. Pietrino and Libia, along with their two daughters and Libia's mother Ida, went to Coreglia. Marta and I went to Lucignana because we had some farm animals and we did not know where to keep them in Coreglia. In Lucignana we stayed with Picchi. We remain there for about two months. Finally, orders were given which allowed us to return to our village.

The front was not moving and we were paralyzed. Two days before Christmas in 1944 the Germans sent a message stating that they intended to attack and advance their position. At this point, the Americans retreated [the exact word he uses is "scapparono," which literally means "ran away"] and they were replaced by Indian and Brazilian soldiers, among others. There was great confusion. Even in Gromignana, where we'd seen only one patrol every morning, soldiers now occupied many portions of the village. As God willed it, the German attack turned out to be a false alarm and after a week everything returned to normal.

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