Le Ville sul Tufo

A group of community volunteers based in Falciano, who call themselves Le Ville sul Tufo, is dedicated to preserving local landmarks and sharing the history of their area with visitors.

The association is comprised of residents of Falciano—the Falcianesi—along with former residents and descendants of Falcianesi, and their spouses/companions. Today only 15 people live in the small cluster of homes known as new Falciano. Old Falciano, shattered by an earthquake, has been entirely abandoned.

A core group of Le Ville sul Tufo gathers periodically for work sessions that include tidying historical sites, repair work, and path clearing. Group member Gian Paolo Ferretti says, “When we organize walks, conferences, or parties, other members and friends also participate.”

“The name Le Ville sul Tufo,” Paolo explains, “refers to a group of seven small villages that in the past were called ville, for example Villa Falgiano [a former spelling of Falciano]; ‘sul tufo’ references the rock from which the villages are built, which is commonly called tufo—even if it is not actually tufo [a type of pyroclastic, or volcanic, rock], but another kind of rock—arenaria [sandstone].

“We don’t have the means and the strength to repair buildings, but we reopen old paths and organize cultural events.”

Pte. David Garcia, 1/4 Battalion, Essex Regiment, was deployed to North Africa during WWII, captured near Mersa Matruh in June 1942, and interned in PG 102 L’Aquila, Italy. After the September 1943 Italian Armistice, David and the other prisoners left the camp.

David and another escaped prisoner, Patrick Callan, made their way to San Giacomo, where they were protected by the Umberto Capannolo and his family. We don’t know if Patrick was interned in PG 102, or whether David met him while on the run.

“It was not safe for David and Patrick to stay with Umberto’s family, so his sons established a bivouac for them in a cave at the edge of some woods,” said Roger Bickmore (husband of David’s granddaughter Miranda). “They then considered it to be too close to the road and found another cave deeper in the forest.”

One year ago I wrote about a reunion of David’s family and Capannolo descendants. (See “A Joyous Reunion—the David Garcia and Umberto Capannolo Families Meet.”)

During the past year, Roger has been hard at work tracking Patrick.

Here are the recent developments in Roger’s own words:

The Other Man in the Cave: My Search for Patrick Callan

“Last February I shared the story my of meeting the Capannolo family in L’Aquila the previous summer with my mother-in-law, Linda. They gave shelter to her father, David Garcia, for several months after the armistice in 1943. Their identity was only revealed when Linda discovered an address on a letter from the Red Cross in David’s old tin box decades later. The opportunity to finally thank these wonderful people proved to be as memorable as we had hoped.

“My report of this joyous occasion, however, ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. We had not expected to be told that David had a companion hiding with him in the hill caves behind their farm: apparently a soldier from South Africa called Patrick. On hearing this surprising news, I decided to find out who he was and whether he had surviving relatives. With so little to go on I was unsure where to start. Thankfully, Anne Copley of the Monte San Martino Trust pointed me in the direction of the American National Archives (NARA).

Not too long ago Steve Dickinson connected with the family of Ron Dix.

It was a happy reunion of sorts. Steve’s uncle Robert Dickinson and Ron Dix were prisoners in Italy together, and after their escape from PG 112/4 Turin they were sheltered by the Bauducco family for 13 months. After the 13 months, they left the Bauducco home and fought with the Aldo Brosio partisan brigade. Both Robert and Ron were killed fighting with the partisans.

The Dix family has shared photos and information about Ron with Steve.

A newspaper item in the Saffron Waldon Weekly News (18 September 1942) reads:

MISSING NEWPORT BOY Now a Prisoner in Italy

Corpl. R. L. Dix of the Essex Regiment, M.E.F., of Cambridge Road, Newport, who was recently officially reported missing since July 1st, is now officially reported a prisoner in Italian hands. His mother has received a postcard and a letter from him stating that he is well and uninjured and that he has already received Red Cross parcels. He was drafted to the Middle East at Christmas, 1940. Corporal Dix, who was educated at the Boys’ British School and later at the East Anglian Institute, was before joining-up in April, 1940, acting head gardener at the county gardens, Chelmsford. He has played football for Walden Town, is a keen sportsman, and declared his intention of continuing his studies in horticulture through the medium of the Red Cross.