My Italian isn't up to much, but my understanding is that this postcard shows an Italian War Memorial tribute to typewriters and/or those who used them during World War I.
The back of the card reads:
UFFICIO CENTRALE
CURA ONORANZE SALME CADUTI
IN GUERRA
(C.O.S.C.G.)
Cimitero Militare degli
“Invitti Della 3a Armata”
Redipuglia
Macchina de scrivere.
Io ti chiedo perdono,
ignoto Fante,
se qualche volta t’ho
recato noia.
Quante scartoffie, mentre tu Gigante
balzavi fiero al grido di
Savoia !
Ma se ci pensi, anch’lo ho
un po’ di gloria:
tu battevi il nemico, io …
la Vittoria.
Ediz. FOTO RAPID – Via Ore,
14 – Milano -
My understanding is that this is headed by the name of an organisation entrusted with the care of graves and the honouring of the war fallen. It shows the Military Cemetery of the "Undefeated 3rd
Army" in Redipuglia. (Fogliano
Redipuglia is located in Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the province of Gorizia. It is famous for its First World War military memorial. It is the
largest of its kind in Italy, with more than a 100,000 victims buried
there.)
I gather the text under "Typewriter" seeks forgiveness from an "unknown
Fante", who may sometimes have been bored from "much paperwork" while [others?] "leap proud to cries of
Savoy! (the royal house of Italy)". "But if you think about it" he may have had a "little glory", battering the enemy ...?
Can someone provide a better translation, please?
3 comments:
Intriguing!
I think the end is ... "You were battling the enemy, I was battling the Victory." Vittoria (Victory) is an Italian typewriter make.
Something gets lost in translation, for sure.
Hi, Robert. What a funny postcard. Reference I think is to the "Bollettino della Vittoria", issued by General Diaz at the end of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, which for Italy marked the end of World War I. So while "you (the unknown Soldier (Fante)) beat the enemy, I "beat out" (both "battere" in Italian) the (bollettino della) Vittoria". A humorous piece, but the photo could very well depict the typewriter used for typing the Bollettino. These machines usually are preserved or marked in a way to commemorate the historical event.
Please forgive me, unknown soldier, if sometimes I was annoying to you. How many paperwork (I produced), while you giant were leaping proud (toward the enemy), crying "Savoy!". But if you think about it, I had some glory too: while you were defeating the enemy, I...was typing Victory.
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