La seconda Via

Russian front, January 1943. It’s hell: the flurries of sleet take the breath away and Sergeant Bisi can make out nothing. Worried, he twists his neck to check if his men are following him. Some metres from there he sees Zaina, followed by Prati who sinks into the white blanket of snow up to the knees. They both have frost-bitten skin and their coats have turned into oppressive stiff suits because of the prohibitive temperature. Behind them, Artico’s dark figure appears in the middle of that suffocating dust. He doesn’t bear the rucksack anymore and he is driven by Ferri’s hand while, tailing them, poor Remagio, a grizzled dark-haired mule, puffs from its nostrils and, with its ears down, moves forward dragging the sledge carrying Lieutenant Sala. The six Alpini, who look more like castaways than soldiers, are crossing the steppe to reach a village in order to escape the impending encirclement by the enemy. But night has already fallen and there is nothing in front of them. A long night of war and a journey through humankind, among valleys, birch forests, mountain lakes, burning towns, snow-covered beaches, and wheat fields.