January 29
th
, 1944
The bombing of central Italy is increasing.
Within the last three days, Orvieto, Orte, Terni , Arezzo,
Foiano, Siena , Poggibonsi , Pontedera , Pontassieve, have
all again been bombed . Yesterday, a train, carrying
Allied prisoners and civilians evacuated from Rome,
was hit on the bridge of Alerona , near Chiusi .
The arches of the bridge were also hit, and some
of the carriages plunged into the river . There were
over 400 dead and wounded .
– I R I S O R I G O , Wa r i n Va l d ' O rc i a
I n 1 9 4 4 , 1 8 ye a r s b e f o r e I w a s b o r n ,
I R I S O R I G O S AV E D M Y L I F E .
In the literal sense, what she really did was to make my life
possible. There are hundreds like me, all over Europe and America;
the help she gave to my father during World War II is only one of the
many extraordinary acts of kindness, bravery, and selflessness she
carried out not only during the war, but during the course of her
entire life.
Judging from the number of people who show up at the La Foce/
Chiarentana estate clutching a copy of War in Val d'Orcia, the diary
Origo kept from 1943-1944 when the Allied forces launched their
attack on Italy, I am far from the only one who is deeply moved by
the story.
