In the red corner, plucky local heroes, the Kingdom of Italy!

Buondì.

OK, so after Wednesday’s historic defeat, today we have another big battle, and this time it’s the sort that Italians name streets after.

There’s a Via Vittorio Veneto in Bologna, where I live, and probably one in most other Italian towns and cities, too. Does that give you a clue?

Google Maps, when giving directions to my wife, who likes these things to be in English, pronounces ‘Via’ like ‘fire’, rather than like ‘here’, as it should be. Someone should tell them.

Personally, I’m the ‘look at the paper map before you leave, then try and remember the way’ sort of driver. It doesn’t always get me there, but at least I don’t have to deal with the app.

But anyway, I’ve often wondered about the name of that particular street. Does it refer to a person (Victor/Victoria)? An actual victory? A place? Or some combination of the three?

As with so many Italian street names, it would have remained a mystery, given that I didn’t frequent elementary school or junior high in Italy, unlike most of the other fifty-nine million inhabitants who – poverini – as young children were forced to suffer through a decade or more of patriotic brainwashing, along with frequent tests to check that the message was getting through.

Fortunately, now I’ve now read and listened to today’s Summer Series episode!

So then, Vittorio Veneto is the sort of city you’ve probably never visited, or even heard of. I certainly hadn’t. Turns out it’s near Treviso, which I have been to. Treviso is a pretty, prosperous place in the Veneto region, in the northeast of Italy. Worth a visit, if you’re in the area. Vittorio Veneto, on the other hand – and I’m just guessing – is probably eminently missable.

Wikipedia informs me that the city used to be two separate settlements, but that in 1866 they were amalgamated and named, in the patriotic furore of that time, for the new Italian king, Vittorio Emanuele II.

Crucially, though, Vittorio Veneto, as it was renamed later, finds itself (in Veneto, obviously) near the River Piave. And we all know from history lessons that rivers are often the settings for battles.

“Ladies and gentlemen, in the blue corner tonight, give a big cheer for the under-nourished, footsore soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian empire!

And over in the red corner – needing no introduction, I’m sure – we have plucky local heroes, the battered and bruised conscripts of the Kingdom of Italy! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hopefully, they’re now back in form, after their 1917 title loss to the rather more efficient, well-equipped, and well-led Germans… Let’s wish our boys a less disastrous outcome here tonight!”

Read (& listen) all about it here:

Episodio 12. La rivincita dell’Italia a Vittorio Veneto (1918)

(The first eleven episodes in this series can be found on our History page. Scroll right down to the end to find them.)

A lunedì.

P.S. Half-price eBook of the Week – final reminder!

Here’s a final reminder about this week’s ‘Half-price eBook of the Week’ offer, Vita in trincea, which is on the same theme as the most recent Summer Series articles.

The level is B1/B2 (intermediate/upper-intermediate) and the ebook comes in .pdf format (the default download), with .epub & .mobi formats available on request at no extra charge.

Tra il 1915 e il 1917, durante la Prima Guerra Mondiale, l’esercito italiano e quello austriaco si scontrano nella zona montana delle Alpi Carniche, vicino al fiume Isonzo. I militari italiani, reclutati in tutta Italia, vengono mandati al fronte.

“La terra delle montagne, qui, ha un odore strano, una puzza terribile a dire la verità. Non è come a casa” dice Rino a suo fratello Felice a bassa voce, mentre il rumore di molti stivali come i loro marca il ritmo della marcia. “Ancora pochi minuti e arriviamo alla trincea, accelerate il passo!” comanda un ufficiale che cammina poco avanti a loro.

Gli stivali sono scomodi, con il fondo di cartone e i chiodi sulla suola sottile. I piedi dei soldati sanguinano dopo le lunghe ore di cammino al freddo sulle Alpi. L’odore, intanto, è sempre più forte. “Questa puzza viene sicuramente dalla trincea” pensa Rino di nuovo. Felice gli stringe un braccio e dice: “Non ce la faccio più, lo giuro. Devo fermarmi un poco” mentre va avanti a fatica. Rino lo incoraggia: “E dai, che stiamo arrivando, resisti!”

• .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
• .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
• 8 chapters to read and listen to
• Comprehension questions to check your understanding
• Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
• Suitable for students at intermediate level or above
• Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)

Remember, this week Vita in trincea is 50% discounted, so just £4.99 rather than the usual ‘easy reader’ ebook price of £9.99!

Buy Vita in trincea, just £4.99 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog

How do I access my ebook?

When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?

P.S.

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