"One way trip" is the first opera historical literary by Stefano Venditti, a Campobasso journalist transplanted to the Bolognese Apennines in the town of Marzabotto. At the center of the manuscript is the story of the soldier Giovanni Picciano, a native of Busso in the province of Campobasso, engaged in the Russian campaign in the World War II on the Don River front. Soldier Giovanni Picciano is still missing in the war
From journalistic article to writing a book
"I must confess that at the beginning I had some fear in having to try my hand at writing a book, which is definitely and diametrically opposed to writing a journalistic article. Fortunately, however, I immediately felt a certain feeling with the story of the soldier Giovanni Picciano and after the period of gathering information, the words were born spontaneously from my pen, or rather from my pc. The book almost wrote itself without any kind of hesitation or difficulty whatsoever. It took more time to research and document than to write. I was amazed at this by myself, because it means that the story of the soldier Giovanni Picciano has entered my heart ”.
The meeting at the base of the book on Giovanni Picciano
“I was contacted by Mrs. Carmela, soldier Giovanni's niece, because she was looking for a journalist who could echo her uncle's story, still with the status of missing in war on the Don River during World War II. At first, I wrote a simple article that had a good response not only between the Molise borders but also in the neighboring regions. Then, however, I realized that a simple article was not enough to tell such an engaging story and in that moment I decided to write a book. An idea that was very much liked by the family of origin of the soldier Picciano. At the end of the writing of the book I felt a great satisfaction because I was able to realize Mrs. Carmela's desire. She had promised on her father Lorenzo's deathbed, Giovanni's brother, that she would do her best to honor the memory of her uncle ”.
The difficulties in telling such an articulated story
“Usually, books of this kind are based on direct testimony: letters, postcards, diaries, coming from the front to their respective families. In this case, all of this has failed. There are only three photos left by Giovanni Picciano. The only official paper documents are the request to the International Red Cross to start the search procedures, the report of unavailability and the request for the assignment of the cross to military value. The memories of Giovanni Piacciano were enclosed in the minds of his nephews. If the book had not seen the light, the memory of soldier Picciano risked getting lost in the folds of time. Nothing came from the soldier Picciano from the front, no writing and not even the dog tags. This was the biggest difficulty. That of the lack of documentation that has also made complex the historical research of the events that saw him as protagonist
Strong and truthful emotions about Giovanni Picciano
"In the book there is a piece of both my heart and that of the Picciano family and I hope that the emotions they felt in telling and I in writing can reach those who decide to read this story of a young Bussese torn from his land and from his own family to fight in Russia. In the book I tried not only to remember the soldier Giovanni but above all the man. The gentle giant who was a pillar for his loved ones and for his family. Strong emotions and feelings that reached the people who bought the book. The book has had an excellent response so much so that it will soon be presented in three book festivals: tomorrow afternoon in the park of the thermal baths of Porretta Terme in the province of Bologna; in October in Sestri Levante in the province of Genoa; in November in Pisa"
