He died on the Russian front of the Great War: 79 years later the letter he wrote was delivered to his niece who lives in Barletta.
Vincenzo Fugalli was only 22 years old when he died, on January 23, 1942 during the battle of Nicolajevka, on Christmas night 1942 he wrote a beautiful letter to his family who, however, managed to read it only 79 years later. It was, in fact, delivered to Serena Fugalli, a niece of the dead alpine soldier, during a short ceremony held at the Palazzo di città in Barletta.
“This is Christmas night, I am writing in the shelter next to mine, they are singing the Pastorella and they even forget about the food that is slow in arriving. It is snowing heavily outside, you can see that the Child must be born here too, the environment is most propitious and suggestive”, wrote Vincenzo Fugalli in the letter that he was unable to send. It was found by Olga Rosa Davini, a woman from Mantua while she was tidying up the house of her father who died some time ago.
"My parents, especially my father - said Davini - worked tirelessly in the post-war period with the Russian government to make possible the return of the bodies of some soldiers who fell on that front during the Second World War. A mission based on negotiations that were arduous to say the least, but carried out in the moral awareness of offering a priceless tribute to the memory of many soldiers who were unable to embrace their loved ones. I have collected this innate legacy and it was precisely during the tireless research that I found the manuscript that, after the successful word of mouth activation through social channels and the media, I can return to the family of Lieutenant Vincenzo Fugalli".
Ruggiero Graziano, president of the Barletta associations, helped the woman in searching for the soldier's relatives. I am amig and Ancr, Michele Grimaldi, director of the State Archives, and the city councilor Giuseppe Dipaola. “Be calm – Vincenzo asked from the front – I have the absolute conviction that nothing will ever happen to me even if we walk among mines and if I go to a hundred assaults. Do not think for this that I am imprudent and careless: I have always had my head firmly planted on my shoulders and I need it to think beforehand about what I have to do next”. “Tomorrow when it will be daylight and we can finally try to sleep a little even with the eternal boots on our feet, dreaming of the Child and our dream will be rosy and innocent like that of childhood. Here we become good. Merry Christmas, lots of peace, Enzo”, the Alpine soldier’s wish.
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Article published on 5 June 2021 - 06:15
