General Montgomery slept here

A cynic would say that if Montgomery slept everywhere he was supposed to have slept, he would have been asleep throughout the Italian campaign.  Luckily I am not a cynic.  Michele was fortunate enough to meet the 96 year old "Nona" who owns the house.



Her house was requisitioned and used as a "Halfway House" (hence the graffiti) by Canadians and New Zealanders on the way to the horrific front around the battle of Ortona.  The allied troops shared their chocolate rations with kids who had never tasted chocolate.  They promised to return but were never seen again.  The graffiti in the picture was restored in memory of these troops by the old lady who owns the house.