Manetto – Letters from the Front
Release: 4th November 2026 (Amazon)
Pages: –
Genre: Essay
eBook: Amazon
These letters had been kept in a drawer for decades. When I read them, I immediately realised they wanted to speak out. The correspondence between Manetto — a young soldier born in 1896 — and his elder sister Vittorina reveals details of life at the time, family relationships, and the experiences of young men at the front. A collection of emotions and memories.
This work is presented in the following parts:
- From Mestre to Bassano The first phase of the war, soldiers are moved from place to place
- Warzone Manetto starts reporting news from his first days of war at the front
- Lost 1n 1917 the fate of cousin Antonio and Pietro, Vittorina’s boyfriend, is unknown
- 1918 A turning point for the war, but the Spanish flu gets to the front and Manetto falls ill
- Bells The correspondence now reflects the disbelief of relatives and friends as they react to Manetto’s loss
- The Voyage Out Manetto’s mother starts planning her trip to Veneto. Letters convey a sense of sorrow and acceptance.
- Dear Manetto A letter to Manetto
The book “Manetto – Letters from the Front” is based on the correspondence between my great-grandmother Vittorina and her brother Manetto.
Theme: In 1915, Manetto was sent to the front line of the Great War, and soon after, the epistolary exchange began, through which the young man constantly updated his family on his health status and movements.
From these letters, much of the Manetti family dynamics come to light. Thanks to my cousin Cristina S., these invaluable testimonies have finally reached me, and today I am happy to share them with you through a lengthy transcription that I carried out over time in a few steps.
Here I am publishing a few excerpts from the book, which is available in its entirety in digital version on Amazon.
The letters have been placed in chronological order, and where possible, information on Manetto’s location and/or introductory notes on what was happening in the Great War are included.
In the present collection, only one letter from Vittorina is published, the only one in which she reveals her state of mind after her brother’s death. It is likely the rough draft of a letter sent to Battista Minguzzi after Manetto’s death.
Among the letters, however, there are also those written by the young woman to her fiancé Pietro Minguzzi (Bumbara) during his time as a prisoner of war, when he was missing. There are letters from relatives and friends of the family, namely Innocente Placci (a family friend, and later husband of Felicina, sister to Vittorina and Manetto), Battista Minguzzi (a friend of Manetto), and aunts Filomena and Sister Rosalia.
