Description
More than three hundred images including photographs, drawings and watercolors which document the Italian war in Russia: realized by the engineer from Alessandria Pasquale Vella of the 37th Infantry Regiment of the Ravenna division. Pasquale Vella, passed away in 1998, without ever having made public this exceptional diary of war images: indeed, though realizing oil paintings taken from photographs and drawings, he always said little, even to his own family, of the wartime events and of the actual size of the documentary and iconography material he kept. It only saw the light after his death, thanks to his son Gian Paolo who discovered it and made it possible to present it to the public. Many natives of Alessandria will recognize their grand-dads or fathers, as many men of this province were part of the 37th Regiment of the Ravenna Division, which was stationed in the city for many years. Vella documented the entire journey of the Armir expedition, without photographing the dead bodies on the battlefields. There are also playful photographs, showing Italian soldiers joking and playing together: he photographs many episodes of daily life, not only soldiers and officials of the Armir, but also Germans, Romanians, and prisoners..

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The exhibition is organised by Società di storia, arte e archeologia per le province di Alessandria e Asti in association with Istituto per la storia della resistenza e della società contemporanea per la provincia di Alessandria Carlo Gilardenghi, the Alessandria branch of the Association of Disabled Men of the War, Associazione Ryalge, and Fondazione Matrice di Torino. The initiative is sponsored by the City of Alessandria.