April 25th marks the day in 1945 when Turin and Milan were liberated from Fascist and Nazi troops. Celebrated as Liberation Day, the holiday is one of remembrance.
Now on the 66th anniversary of the liberation, a new collection of love letters from the front has been released.
The letters, sent from Italian soldiers to their sweethearts at home, show the tender side of the troops fighting for liberation. Some soldiers worry about gardens back home, while others express their undying love to their far away wives.
Claudia Cencini tracked down the declarations of devotion by searching attics and vintage marketplace stalls. The resulting compilation of notes and poems is titled Lettere d'amore dal fronte, Io non sono mica tristo (Letters of Love From the Front- I’m Not Sad).
To read the letters (in Italian), all written between 1915 and 1945, you can download a free PDF of the publication here.
