Alessandro Gualtieri lives and was born in Milan, Italy, in 1964. He is an English teacher, a Professional  Interpreter an IT “Guru” and a Scholar of the Great War. He has recently published an exhaustive best-seller on this subject (“La Grande Guerra 1914-1918”) and the exclusive war diary of a WWI Italian infantryman (“Dal Piave alla prigionia”). The latter has been translated by the author and is available worldwide as “An Italian forever”.

Some other recent endeavour of Alessandro Gualtieri includes some comprehensive research, in Italian, about The Battle of the Somme and The Battle of Verdun, while a new book about The Battles of Ypres has just been published.

AN ITALIAN FOREVER

Private Settimio Damiani’s tales

from the manslaughters

of the Isonzo River, Caporetto

and the Great War

Recently the diary of a World War I Italian soldier in the front line trenches of Italy in WW I has been opened for the world to see.  It had been in the safe keeping of his American born daughter who could not understand the Italian writing for years, before it was accidentally found.  Today, an Italian scholar has translated and published this remarkable insight into the real life of a brave Italian soldier fighting in hopeless combat in the very midst of WWI hell.

Settimio Damiani was one of only 6 percent of the Italian population who could actually read and write in the early 20th century.  Even more rare, was owning a pen or pencil in the midst of combat.  Settimio gave up crackers in exchange for a pen to write in his diary.  (Think of it as a meal for a hard working man fed almost starving rations)  The diary delivers the story of the irrepressible spirit of this young man, who returned briefly to Italy from America, knowing he would be drafted.  Settimio was sent to the front lines to repel the German/Austrian attack.  Everyone knew the Italians were outmanned, out gunned and lambs for the slaughter.  Day after day, he fought to save his comrades or to bury them, weakened, worried, and dedicated to do his duty.

In America,  he eventually sent for his wife and 6 year old son Eleuterio (Ted), and had 3 more children, Cesare (Chester), Gaetano (Guy), and Nicolena (Lena).  His daughter kept the diary of her quiet father.  It is ironical that years after his death, she is hearing his story through the devoted work of an Italian scholar, Alessandro Gualtieri  and her nephew, Tim Damiani, devoted to the family history who contacted the scholar with the copy of the diary.

Alessandro Gualtieri, co-authoring the book with another WWI Italian historian and journalist, Giovanni Dalle Fusine,  finalized his research and iconographic material with a specialized publisher from Brescia, Italy, which released the 168-page book in January 2009.

The International version of the book,  “An Italian Forever”, is currently availabe at bookshops worldwide and on the Internet (Amazon.com).

The official presentations of the book so far have included one official event, hosted and supported by the Municipality and the Italian Authorities of Acquaviva Picena and San Benedetto del Tronto, and a major promotion event in Chicago, USA.

For more information and other press releases,

please contact Alessandro Gualtieri.

Alessandro Gualtieri is also the editor and webmaster of a comprehensive website entirely dedicated to the First World War , on-line at: www.lagrandeguerra.net, and the founder and chairman of a private association of researchers and historians of the Great War.