M E D I A R E L E A S E
24 August 2011
To the Gateways of
Florence
New Zealand Forces in Tuscany, 1944
Edited by Stefano Fusi
For 50 years after
the end of the Second World War, most people in the Chianti region between
Florence and Siena did not know that New Zealand forces had been the ones to
liberate them from Nazi German occupation in the summer of 1944.
It took research by
Stefano Fusi, then mayor of Tavarnelle (near Florence), and his New Zealand
wife Jill Gabriel, to affirm that the liberators had been not Americans but
soldiers of the 2nd New Zealand Division, many of whom never made it
home.
Now those sacrifices,
and the bonds they forged between New Zealand and Italy, are being celebrated
in a new book – To the Gateways of
Florence: New Zealand Forces in Tuscany 1944.
Launched at functions
in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland over the next fortnight, To the Gateways of Florence remembers
the men of the 28th Maori Battalion and 21st Infantry
Divisions who showed immense tenacity in battle, and compassion to the Italian
people that is warmly remembered to this day.
A delegation composed of Stefano
Fusi (now a Florence Provincial councillor), Jill Gabriel, Sestilio
Dirindelli (current mayor of Tavarnelle) and his wife Gianna has come to
New Zealand in order to launch the book.
“Sharing our history has helped forge a
deep friendship with the New Zealand people who live so far away from Tuscany
and from the Chianti area, but to whom, for obvious reasons, we feel so close,”
says Fusi.
“Our friendship has strengthened over time
and has also been sealed by the decision made by the municipalities of
Tavarnelle Val di Pesa and Scandicci to erect two monuments to the fallen New
Zealanders.”
Translated from a 2009
Italian book, To the Gateways of Florence
enables New Zealanders to read Italian historians analysing New Zealand’s
pivotal role in Tuscany, alongside contributions from three of our own leading
military historians – Christopher Pugsley, Monty Soutar and Jeffrey Plowman
The testimonies,
diaries and letters of the New Zealand soldiers are matched by moving
testimonies from the Italian civilians who lived through the battles that
decided the war.
One contributor,
Franca Ferrantini, recalls singing for New Zealand soldiers at Florence’s Hotel
Baglioni: “I send dear thoughts to
all those boys from way back then on the other side of the world.”
Publishers Peter
Dowling and Alessandra Zecchini committed to translating the work after
attending commemorations in the Chianti region on Anzac Day (also Italy’s
Liberation Day) in 2010.
“We were overwhelmed
by the warm welcome and the efforts that had gone to honouring the New Zealand
soldiers,” Dowling recalls.
Zecchini, whose late
father fought for the partisans in the mountains to the north of Tuscany, says
that the book embodies the close bonds that sprang up between Italians and
Kiwis in the course of the Second World War.
A rich selection of
photographs and memorabilia from archives in New Zealand and Italy illustrates
the work.
To the Gateways of Florence will be
launched at the following events:
· Wellington, 26 August: Te Papa Store
· Christchurch, 1 September: University Bookshop Canterbury,
·
Auckland, 8 September:
Council Chamber, Auckland Town Hall
Release Date: 26 August
2011 | ISBN:
978-1-877514-23-4 |
RRP $44.99
276 pages (20 colour), 12 contributors, 200 images
Stefano
Fusi is in New Zealand until 10 September.
For an
interview, images, launch details or a review copy, contact:
Isabell Zitzelsberger 09 814 8993
Peter Dowling
027 614 8993
Libro International, a division of Oratia Media
www.librointernational.com | www.oratiamedia.com
