A unique piece of historical literature “ Testament of youth”, written by the young writer Vera Brittain and published in 1933, remains a memory of the Great War.
In her book the young Brittain talks about the difficulties experienced during the First Wolrd War, through the painful loss of countless english soldiers, including her brother who was deployed to the Italo-Austrian front at Granezza. Her brother entered the english squadron with the headquarters at Lugo di Vicenza in Villa Godi Malinverni, and was engaged in the defense of the plateau of Asiago.

Vera Brittain
In her work, “ Testament of youth”, the young english writer tells of her painful experiences during the Great War and of the battles that have taken place over the years on the Asiago Plateau. This brilliant Oxford student writes about two very important losses . The first was her fiancé Roland Leighton, who died in France, and then her brother Edward, who died at Granezza, on service at the general headquarters in Villa Godi Malinverni.
She was also deployed as a volunteer nurse , but only arrived at the Italian front in 1922 to visit the tomb of her brother Edward, preserved at the English cemetary at Granezza.
Since 1970, the ashes of Vera Brittain lie in the same cemetery as her brother Edward, reminding us of the deep bond between the history of the Pedemontana ( the foothills of Vicenza) and the english families who suffered a loss during the war.

The end of the Great War
On the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 the armistice was formally signed. On that very same day Emperor Charles 1 of Austria abdicated.
Numerous peace conferences were to follow at Paris in 1919.

We are reminded of the countless victims with crosses, itineraries and cemetaries in the Vicenza foothills and at Villa Godi Malinverni. A total of 37 milion of which: 8.5 milion deaths, 21 milion wounded, 7.5 milion prisoners and dispersed.
We would also like to remember the 680,000 italian combatants, victims of war.
Trivia… The 11th of november is Remembrance Day, a national holiday celebrated in many countries.
A day to remember the victims of the Great War and the following wars to come.