I asked a few ITALIANS if they could recommend a book about life in Tuscany during WWII. The consensus was a book by an Englishwoman who lived on a farm near Montepulciano throughout the war years. She published a diary that tells the story in her own words. She went on to write many books to wide acclaim after the diary was published. She wrote history, biography, and a novel or two, and a memoir of her only son, Gianni, who died of meningitisat age 7.
The story of her family's ordeal chronicles the time period of greatest difficulty for Tuscany: the time of the facists(Mussolini's era and its ending), the German Occupation Period, the Partisan Period, and the final battles as the Allies recaptured Italy from the German Army late in 1944. Her ordeals included dealing with the 50 sharecropper families living on the 3000a. estate; her own newborn infant; the addition of 30 orphans from Milan(sent without a request), a chaotic political situation; escaped prisoners looking for refuge; downed pilots looking for aid to return to Allied troop positions; partisans seeking food, shelter, and medical aid; and Italian refugees seeking shelter from their own war torn towns and cities.
It is a fascinating account of the family as they made every effort to survive and to assist as many of those as they could who asked for help. It does not cover many of the other areas beyond the central Tuscan landscape, but she does give a very clear account of the difficulties faced by civilians who were trapped by circumstances beyond their control.
The family estate, called La Foce, is well maintained today by her two daughters. It is located in the hill country near Siena, and its beautiful , English designed gardens are open to visitors one day a week.
The War in Val d'Orcia by Iris Origo- a good read!
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