Italy

  • 16 bodies in Lake Maggiore

    The lakes of Italy are known for its beauty. Although I have been to Italy several times it was usually the Lake Garda area I would visit, every time I was awestruck by its beautiful surroundings. I did see Lake Maggiore once in passing and it also looked majestic. However this majestic beautiful place was

    Read more →

  • (updated February 15, 2024) Now that the  we are only a few months away from the UEFA Euro 2024 and , it is a good opportunity to look at one of the sport’s legends. Ernest Erbstein, aka Ernest Egri-Erbstein was a Jewish-Hungarian football player and  He was involved in  football as a player and coach

    Read more →

  • This is one of those ‘What if’ stories, a different result would have made a massive impact on world’s history. Gibson was born in Dublin, Ireland, on August 31 1876. Her father was an Irish lawyer and politician, Edward Gibson, who was created Baron Ashbourne in 1886. Her mother, Frances, was a Christian Scientist. Violet grew

    Read more →

  • I know what you’re all thinking” Has he lost his marbles, we are only 2 days away from St Patrick’s day and he is coming up with a Christmas story” Do not worry I can assure you that I still have all my faculties. Legend has it that on this day in the year 280

    Read more →

  • Raid of the Ghetto of Rome

    There are two sad elements to this story. A-As so oft before during WWII victims had been given a sense of hope, often false hope given by the Nazi’s to even inflict psychological terror upon the physical crimes. However in this case the hope was given by the allies. B. So very little is known

    Read more →

  • Of all the enemies Allied soldiers confronted during World War II, malaria proved to be among the most stubborn. The mosquito-borne disease was a constant scourge for soldiers stationed in the Pacific and Mediterranean theaters. General MacArthur’s retreat to the malarial Philippine peninsula of Bataan in early 1942 led directly to his sickly army’s surrender to the Japanese a

    Read more →

  • The other Mussolinis

    Cynical me would have probably given this blog the title “Hey, karma is a b*tch” but I am aware that my audience is bigger then just me and therefore I aim to remain unbiased. Bruno Mussolini (22 April 1918 – 7 August 1941) was the son of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and Mussolini’s wife Rachele. On 7 August 1941, the 23-year-old

    Read more →

  • Battle of Santiago

    No this is not a piece on World War 2 or any other war for that matter,although it is often said that football is war. The Battle of Santiago  is the name given to a particularly infamous football match during the 1962 FIFA World Cup. It was a game played between host Chile and Italy

    Read more →

  • One of the biggest mistakes Hitler made during WWII was actually partnering up with Benito Mussolini and his army. The Italian army was extremely effective before the war and well into 1941. The Italian army invaded Ethiopia and Albania and crushed the defending armies. However this was against countries with outdated tech, small armies and

    Read more →

  • In September 1943, Nazi paratroopers staged a daring commando raid that rescued Mussolini from the Apennine Mountain ski resort where he was being detained. Hitler installed Mussolini as the figurehead of the Social Republic of Italy (known informally as the Republic of Salo), a Nazi puppet state in German-occupied northern Italy. By April 25, 1945,

    Read more →