0:02:40 > 0:02:44Volunteers from the Armed Forces in World War II found to possess
0:02:44 > 0:02:47linguistic qualifications were frequently directed into the
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Intelligence Corps. At the end of this fortnight,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53trainees considered to have shown promise were interviewed by the
0:02:53 > 0:02:56selection officer, who went through a pretence of discussing with them
0:02:56 > 0:02:58their future.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06What the trainee did not realise was that, however encouraging the report
0:03:06 > 0:03:09on the major's desk, his fate had been instantly settled from the
0:03:09 > 0:03:12moment of the officer's first quick scrutiny of his face.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16The selection officer believed that blue was the colour of truth.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20To the blue-eyed trainees, therefore,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23went the responsible and sometimes glamorous jobs,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26while the rest were tipped into the dustbin of what was then called
0:03:26 > 0:03:27the Field Security Police.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34The escape from this predicament was a posting to an overseas section,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37employed primarily as linguists, to bridge the gap between
0:03:37 > 0:03:39the military and the civilian population.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48On the 1st of September 1943,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52I was posted to 312 Field Security Service,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55who had been temporarily attached to headquarters staff of the American
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Fifth Army. On the 5th of September,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01we sailed in the Duchess of Bedford to join the invasion convoy
0:04:01 > 0:04:02bound for Salerno.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13This was the greatest invasion in this war so far,
0:04:13 > 0:04:15probably the greatest in human history.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22The sea was crowded to the horizon with uncountable ships,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25but we were as lost and ineffective as babes in the wood.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32No-one knew where the enemy was,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35but the bodies on the beach at least proved he existed.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46- MALE VOICE IN A SEA OF NOISE:- There was fighting on the beach
0:04:46 > 0:04:48and there was fighting up ahead,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52and there was fighting in the harbour and on the banks.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55For a while, it didn't matter whether you were in the infantry,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57the air forces or the navy.
0:04:57 > 0:05:03The fire was hot all around. We could hear big navy guns and the
0:05:03 > 0:05:08anti-aircraft guns and the roaring of the dogfighters out at sea.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12- Out of the range of our boats... - VOICE BECOMES INDISTINCT
0:05:14 > 0:05:17MELANCHOLY PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
0:05:53 > 0:05:55At about 11 o'clock, an excited American officer
0:05:55 > 0:05:57dashed up in a Jeep.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00We'd been issued with a Webley pistol and five rounds
0:06:00 > 0:06:03of ammunition apiece. Most of us had never fired a gun.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07With these weapons, we were ordered to assist in the defence of army
0:06:07 > 0:06:10headquarters against the Mark V and Tiger tanks that were now
0:06:10 > 0:06:12rolling towards us.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16What this officer did not tell us was that he and the rest of
0:06:16 > 0:06:19the officers were quietly pulling out and abandoning their men.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34HEAVY ARTILLERY FIRE
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Outright panic now started
0:06:36 > 0:06:40and spread among the American troops left behind.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43In the belief that our position had been infiltrated by German infantry,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45they began to shoot each other,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49and there were blood-chilling screams from men hit by the bullets.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56Then, at four o'clock, we started up our motorbikes, and by God's mercy,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59avoiding the panic-stricken fire directed from cover at anything that
0:06:59 > 0:07:01moved, reached this field,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04with its rabble of shocked and demoralised soldiery.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10We crouched in our slit trench under the pink fluttering leaves of the
0:07:10 > 0:07:15olives, and watched the fires come closer and the night slowly pass.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33We set out to explore a little of our immediate environment.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37As the sun began to sink splendidly into the sea at our back,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40we wandered at random through this wood, full of chirping birds,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42and suddenly found ourselves at the wood's edge.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47We looked out into an open space
0:07:47 > 0:07:49on a scene of unearthly enchantment.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53A few hundred yards away, stood in a row,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56the three perfect temples of Paestum -
0:07:56 > 0:08:01pink and glowing and glorious in the sun's last rays.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04It came as an illumination -
0:08:04 > 0:08:06one of the great experiences of life.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26We were admiring the splendid husk of the Temple of Neptune when the
0:08:26 > 0:08:29war came to us in the shape of a single attacking plane.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Hearing its approach, we crouched under a lintel.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36The plane swooped, opened up with its machine guns,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and then passed on to drop a single bomb on the beach,
0:08:38 > 0:08:39before heading off northwards.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44One of my friends felt a light tap on a pack he was wearing,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48caused by a spent machine gun bullet which fell harmlessly to the ground.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53The experience was, on the whole, an exhilarating one.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55We appreciated the contrast involved,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57and no-one experienced alarm.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01In our small way, we had become seasoned to the hazards of war.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Some delicate in-built mechanism of the nerves has accepted and
0:09:05 > 0:09:09acclimatised itself to a relative loss of security and minor dangers.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13MALE VOICE SINGS IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:09:31 > 0:09:34We finally got through by Jeep to Salerno,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37but found a battle still going on in the outskirts of the town.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39GUNFIRE AND EXPLOSIONS
0:09:43 > 0:09:46German mortar bombs were exploding in the middle of a small square,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49only 100 yards from Security headquarters.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Here, I saw an ugly sight,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00a British officer interrogating an Italian civilian,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03and repeatedly hitting him about the head with a chair,
0:10:03 > 0:10:08treatment which the Italian, his face a mask of blood,
0:10:08 > 0:10:09suffered with stoicism.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14At the end of the interrogation, which had not been considered
0:10:14 > 0:10:17successful, the officer called in a private of the Hampshires and asked
0:10:17 > 0:10:20him, in a pleasant, conversational sort of manner,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22"Would you like to take this man away and shoot him?"
0:10:23 > 0:10:26The private's reply was to spit on his hands and say,
0:10:26 > 0:10:28"I don't mind if I do, sir."
0:10:31 > 0:10:35The most revolting episode I have seen since joining the forces.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13DRAMATIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Kitted out temporarily as an American private with bucket helmet,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45hip-clinging trousers and gated boots,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48I picked up a lift in an American truck going in the direction of
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Naples, which had fallen three days before,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53and where I supposed my section would already be installed.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01At Battipaglia, it was all change,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04with an opportunity for close- quarters study of the effects of
0:12:04 > 0:12:06the carpet bombing ordered by General Clark.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10The general has become the destroying angel of southern Italy.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Here in Battipaglia, we had an Italian Guernica -
0:12:15 > 0:12:18a town transformed in a matter of seconds to a heap of rubble.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23An old man who came to beg said that practically nobody had been left
0:12:23 > 0:12:27alive, and that the bodies were still under the ruins.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30From the stench, and from the sight of the flies streaming like black
0:12:30 > 0:12:33smoke into and out of the holes in the ground,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36this was entirely believable.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30GUNFIRE
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Somewhere a few miles short of Naples proper, the road
0:13:57 > 0:14:01widened into something like a square, dominated by a vast,
0:14:01 > 0:14:03semi-derelict public building,
0:14:03 > 0:14:07plastered with notices and with every window blown in.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Here, several trucks had drawn up,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11and our driver pulled in to the kerb and stopped, too.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16One of the trucks was carrying American army supplies,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19and soldiers, immediately joined by several from our truck,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21were crowding round this and helping themselves
0:14:21 > 0:14:23to whatever they could lay hands on.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Thereafter, crunching through the broken glass that littered the
0:14:28 > 0:14:31pavement, each of them carrying a tin of rations,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33they were streaming into the municipal building.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43I followed them and found myself in a vast room crowded with jostling
0:14:43 > 0:14:47soldiery. Here, a row of ladies sat
0:14:47 > 0:14:51at intervals of about a yard with their backs to the wall.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54These women were dressed in their street clothes and had the ordinary,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56well-washed, respectable shopping
0:14:56 > 0:14:59and gossiping faces of working-class housewives.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05By the side of each woman stood a small pile of tins,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08and it soon became clear that it was possible to make love to any one of
0:15:08 > 0:15:12them in this very public place by adding another tin to the pile.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16The women kept absolutely still.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18They said nothing,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21and their faces were as empty of expression as graven images.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Once again, reality had betrayed the dream, and the air fell limp.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00FAINT OPERA MUSIC
0:16:03 > 0:16:05- ARCHIVE:- On October the 1st 1943,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08the armies of liberation entered Naples.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13UPBEAT JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS
0:17:35 > 0:17:40CHEERING AND INDISTINCT CHATTER
0:18:04 > 0:18:07WATER SPLASHES
0:18:27 > 0:18:32The city of Naples smells of charred wood, with ruins everywhere,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35sometimes completely blocking the streets,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37bomb craters and abandoned trams.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42The main problem is water.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Two tremendous air raids, on August 4th and September 6th,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47smashed up all the services,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50and there has been no proper water supply since the first of these.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06PEOPLE CLAMOUR
0:19:23 > 0:19:25To complete the Allies' work of destruction,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27German demolition squads have gone round,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30blowing up anything of value to the city that still worked.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Such has been the great public thirst of the past few days that
0:20:06 > 0:20:09we are told that people have experimented with sea water
0:20:09 > 0:20:11in their cooking,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14and families have been seen squatting along the seashore round
0:20:14 > 0:20:15weird contraptions,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18with which they hope to distil sea water for drinking purposes.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Hundreds, possibly thousands of Italians,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52most of them women and children,
0:20:52 > 0:20:54were in the fields all along the roadside,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57driven by their hunger to search for edible plants.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02I stopped to speak to a group of them
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and they told me that they had left their homes in Naples at daybreak
0:21:05 > 0:21:08and had had to walk for between two and three hours to reach the spot
0:21:08 > 0:21:12where I found them, seven or eight miles out of town.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18I saw other parties netting birds
0:21:18 > 0:21:22and these had managed to catch a few sparrows and some tiny warblers,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25which they said were common at this time of year,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27attracted by the fruit in the orchards.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Along the seafront at Santa Lucia,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47a similar spectacle of the desperate hunt for food.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06Inexplicably, no boats were allowed out yet to fish.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Nothing, absolutely nothing
0:22:17 > 0:22:20that could be tackled by the human digestive system
0:22:20 > 0:22:21is wasted in Naples.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26There is a persistent rumour
0:22:26 > 0:22:29of a decline in the cat population of the city.
0:23:31 > 0:23:32- ALL:- Ah...
0:23:44 > 0:23:48- ARCHIVE:- The purpose of AMG is to prevent chaos.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Therefore, immediately on occupying a country,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54AMG re-establishes civilian government,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56brings back order and law.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Field manual 27-5 has it in black and white.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06"The object of civil affairs control through military government is to
0:24:06 > 0:24:11"assist military operations, to further national policies
0:24:11 > 0:24:13"and to fulfil the obligation of
0:24:13 > 0:24:17"the occupying forces under international law."
0:24:17 > 0:24:19There it is, on paper.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36I arrived to find that we had been installed in the palace
0:24:36 > 0:24:40of the princes of Satriano, at the end of Naples' impressive seafront,
0:24:40 > 0:24:44the Riviera di Chiaia in the Piazza Vittoria.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46The four-storey building is in the Neapolitan version
0:24:46 > 0:24:48of Spanish baroque
0:24:48 > 0:24:51and we occupy its principal floor at the head of a sweep of marble
0:24:51 > 0:24:55staircase, with high ceilings, decorated with mouldings,
0:24:55 > 0:24:56glittering chandeliers,
0:24:56 > 0:25:01enormous wall mirrors and opulent gilded furniture in vaguely French
0:25:01 > 0:25:02Empire style.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09There are eight majestic rooms but no bathroom
0:25:09 > 0:25:11and the lavatory is in a cupboard in the kitchen.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17The view across the square is of clustered palms,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21much statuary and the Bay of Naples.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26The field security officer has done very well by us.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50There were military units by the dozen all around Naples who wish to
0:25:50 > 0:25:52employ Italian civilians
0:25:52 > 0:25:56and all of these had to be vetted by us as security risks.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09A suspects file had to be started and this was a job that fell to me.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14The labour involved was immense and exceedingly tedious,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17and was much complicated by the prevalence in Naples of certain
0:26:17 > 0:26:21family names - Espositos and Gennaros turn up by the hundred -
0:26:21 > 0:26:25and by the fact that material supplied by our own authorities for
0:26:25 > 0:26:28inclusion in the official black book was often vague.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Quite frequently, suspects were not even identified by name but by such
0:26:37 > 0:26:42descriptions as "of medium height," "aged between 30 and 40,"
0:26:42 > 0:26:45"strikingly ugly," or, in one case,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48"known to possess an obsessive fear of cats".
0:26:49 > 0:26:53Life here promised to be hard-working, sometimes prosaic
0:26:53 > 0:26:54and fraught with routines.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00There is no notice in the palazzo to say who we are and what we are doing
0:27:00 > 0:27:03here, so it's hard to understand why people assume this to be the
0:27:03 > 0:27:05headquarters of the British secret police.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08However, they do and we are beginning to receive a stream
0:27:08 > 0:27:11of visitors, all of them offering their services as informers.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16In the main, they are drawn from the professional classes
0:27:16 > 0:27:19and hand over beautifully engraved cards describing them
0:27:19 > 0:27:22as avvocato, dottore, ingegnere
0:27:22 > 0:27:24or professore.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29They are all most dignified, some impressive, and they talk in low,
0:27:29 > 0:27:30conspiratorial voices.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Among the civilian contacts of these first few days,
0:28:03 > 0:28:08my prize acquisition was Vincente Lattarulo,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11a man steeped in the knowledge of the ways of Naples.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15He proved to be one of the 4,000 lawyers of Naples, 90% of whom -
0:28:15 > 0:28:19surplus to the needs of the courts - had never practised and who,
0:28:19 > 0:28:21for the most part, lived in extreme penury.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Lattarulo had worked out a scientific system
0:28:29 > 0:28:30of self-restraints.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35He stayed most of the day in bed and, when he got up,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38walked short distances along a planned itinerary,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42stopping to rest every few hundred yards in a church.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44He ate an evening meal only,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47normally composed of a little bread dipped in olive oil,
0:28:47 > 0:28:48into which was rubbed a tomato.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54It appeared that Lattarulo had a secondary profession,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57producing occasional windfalls of revenue.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01He admitted, with a touch of pride, to acting as a zio di Roma -
0:29:01 > 0:29:04an uncle from Rome - at funerals.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08His qualifications were his patrician appearance
0:29:08 > 0:29:11and a studied Roman accent and manner.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14When the Neapolitans turn to familiarity in ingratiation,
0:29:14 > 0:29:18Lattarulo shows a proper Roman aloofness and taciturnity.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20This, say the Neapolitans,
0:29:20 > 0:29:22who are fulsome and cloying in their greetings,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24is how a real Roman gentleman speaks.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17How lucky for all concerned that the liberation of Naples happened when
0:30:17 > 0:30:20it did and the perfect weather of early autumn helped hardships
0:30:20 > 0:30:22of all kinds to be more endurable.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26From where I sat sifting wearily through the mountains
0:30:26 > 0:30:28of vilification and calumny,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31I could refresh myself by looking down into the narrow street
0:30:31 > 0:30:33running along one side of the palazzo.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38A day off on a remarkably fine Sunday for the season offered an
0:30:38 > 0:30:41opportunity for further acquaintance with the neighbourhood.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46This is inhabited to bursting point with working-class families,
0:30:46 > 0:30:48whose custom it is to live as much as they can of their lives
0:30:48 > 0:30:49out of doors -
0:30:49 > 0:30:53for which reason this street is as noisy as a tropical aviary.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08CHILDREN SCREAM AND MEN SHOUT
0:31:08 > 0:31:10Quite early in the morning,
0:31:10 > 0:31:12a family living in the house opposite carried out a table
0:31:12 > 0:31:15and stood it in the street, close to their doorway.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18There were a number of other such tables along the street
0:31:18 > 0:31:21and constant social migrations took place,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24as neighbours paid each other visits.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27People called musically to each other over great distances.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39The poor and the rich in Arione live side by side,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42constantly rubbing elbows while appearing to be hardly conscious
0:31:42 > 0:31:43of each other's presence.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50300,000 of the population of Naples inhabit bassi.
0:31:50 > 0:31:51In the Vicaria district,
0:31:51 > 0:31:55up to three people occupy every two square metres in the basso.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00All things in Naples are arranged with as much civility as possible.
0:32:08 > 0:32:09- Hello, Joe!- Hello!
0:32:09 > 0:32:115.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Here, Joe! Come on!
0:32:27 > 0:32:31Neapolitans take their sex lives very seriously indeed.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37A woman called Lola, whom I met at a dinner party,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40arrived at HQ and asked if I could help her.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47It turned out she had taken a lover who was a captain in the Royal Army
0:32:47 > 0:32:51Service Corps, but as he speaks no single word of Italian,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54communication can only be carried on by signs
0:32:54 > 0:32:56and this gives rise to misunderstanding.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12I dance with you, but I won't let you sleep with me.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Who asked you?
0:33:14 > 0:33:17- You don't want to sleep with me? - I don't want to dance with you.
0:33:17 > 0:33:18- Are you crazy?- Hm.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25Watch where you put your hands, GI!
0:33:25 > 0:33:28My name is Yossarian.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Watch where you put your hands, Yossarian.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36Would I agree to interpret for them and settle certain basic matters?
0:33:37 > 0:33:41Captain Frazer turned out to be a tall and handsome man some years
0:33:41 > 0:33:43Lola's junior.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46She wanted to know all about his marital status and he hers,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49and they lied to each other to their hearts' content while I kept a
0:33:49 > 0:33:51straight face and interpreted.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59She asked me to mention to him, in as tactful a way as possible,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02that comment had been caused among her neighbours because he never
0:34:02 > 0:34:04called on her during the day.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09Conjugal visits at midday are de rigueur in Naples.
0:34:13 > 0:34:14When the meeting was over,
0:34:14 > 0:34:18we went off for a drink and Frazer confided to me that something was
0:34:18 > 0:34:19worrying him too.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23On inspecting her buttocks,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26he had found them covered with hundreds of pinpoint marks,
0:34:26 > 0:34:28some clearly very small scars.
0:34:28 > 0:34:29What could they be?
0:34:30 > 0:34:32I put his mind at rest.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37These were the marks left by the iniezione reconstituenti -
0:34:37 > 0:34:41injections which are given in many of the pharmacies of Naples and
0:34:41 > 0:34:44which many middle-class women receive daily to keep their sexual
0:34:44 > 0:34:46powers at their peak.
0:34:48 > 0:34:49Lola had made him understand -
0:34:49 > 0:34:52by gestures one could only shudderingly imagine -
0:34:52 > 0:34:54that her late husband,
0:34:54 > 0:34:58although half-starved and even when in the early stages of tuberculosis
0:34:58 > 0:34:59from which he died,
0:34:59 > 0:35:02never failed to have intercourse with her
0:35:02 > 0:35:04less than six times a night.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09She also had a habit, which terrified Frazer,
0:35:09 > 0:35:13of keeping an eye on the bedside clock while he performed.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17I recommended him to drink - as the locals did -
0:35:17 > 0:35:20Marsala with the yolks of egg stirred into it
0:35:20 > 0:35:25and to wear a medal of San Rocco, patron of coitus reservatus.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27I want to marry you.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30- Not possible.- Why not?
0:35:30 > 0:35:32- Because crazy.- Why am I crazy?
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Because you want to marry me.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37Wait, you won't marry me because I'm crazy and you say I'm crazy because
0:35:37 > 0:35:38I want to marry you, right?
0:35:38 > 0:35:40- Si.- You're crazy.- Why?
0:35:42 > 0:35:45Because I love you.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05EXPLOSION BOOMS
0:36:13 > 0:36:16A narrow escape today while motorcycling along
0:36:16 > 0:36:18the Via Partenope.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22I was riding towards the Castel Nuovo when I noticed a sudden change
0:36:22 > 0:36:27ahead from blue sky, sunshine and shadow to a great opaque whiteness,
0:36:27 > 0:36:29shutting off the view of the port.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33The effect was one of a whole district blotted out by a pall
0:36:33 > 0:36:35of the white smoke sometimes spread
0:36:35 > 0:36:38from the chimneys of a factory producing lime.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41On turning a bend, I came upon an apocalyptic scene.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45A number of buildings, including a bank,
0:36:45 > 0:36:49had been pulverised by a terrific explosion that had clearly
0:36:49 > 0:36:51just taken place.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55Bodies were scattered all over the street.
0:36:55 > 0:36:56But here and there among them stood the living,
0:36:56 > 0:37:01as motionless as statues and all coated in thick white dust.
0:37:03 > 0:37:08What engraved this scene on the mind and the imagination was that nothing
0:37:08 > 0:37:11moved and that the silence was total.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17This turned out to be one of a series of explosions produced by
0:37:17 > 0:37:20delayed-action explosive devices
0:37:20 > 0:37:23constructed by the Germans shortly before their departure,
0:37:23 > 0:37:24in each case
0:37:24 > 0:37:29from several hundred mines buried under principal buildings,
0:37:29 > 0:37:34a senseless massacre perpetrated on the Italian civil population.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54A tremendous scare this morning
0:37:54 > 0:37:58following information given by a captured enemy agent that thousands
0:37:58 > 0:38:02of delayed-action mines would explode when the city's electricity
0:38:02 > 0:38:03supply was switched on.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07This was timed for two o'clock today.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10An order was given for the whole of Naples to be evacuated and,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13within minutes, army vehicles were tearing up and down the streets,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16broadcasting instructions to the civilian population.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21The scene as the great exodus started and a million and a half
0:38:21 > 0:38:25people left their houses and crowded into the streets
0:38:25 > 0:38:27was like some biblical calamity.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51Everyone had to be got away to the safety of the heights of the Vomero,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Fontanelle and the observatory overlooking the town.
0:38:59 > 0:39:00This meant that the bedridden,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03the dying and all the women in labour had to be coped with
0:39:03 > 0:39:06in some way or other, not to mention the physically and mentally sick
0:39:06 > 0:39:09persons in clinics all over the town.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14I saw men carrying their old parents on their backs.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17And at one moment, a single small explosion set off a panic,
0:39:17 > 0:39:21with women and children running screaming in all directions,
0:39:21 > 0:39:22leaving trails of urine.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45At the Vomero, we took up positions at a spot on the heights where
0:39:45 > 0:39:48the road had been intentionally widened to assist visitors
0:39:48 > 0:39:52to appreciate the view, which was splendid indeed.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00All Naples lay spread out beneath us like an antique map on which the
0:40:00 > 0:40:04artist had drawn with almost exaggerated care the many gardens,
0:40:04 > 0:40:08the castles, the towers and the cupolas.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12For the first time, awaiting the cataclysm,
0:40:12 > 0:40:16I appreciated the magnificence of this city,
0:40:16 > 0:40:20seen at a distance which cleansed it of its wartime tegument of grime.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27And for the first time I realised how un-European,
0:40:27 > 0:40:28how Oriental it was.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35A great silence had fallen and we looked down and awaited the moment
0:40:35 > 0:40:37of devastation.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42At about four o'clock, the order came for everyone to go home...
0:40:43 > 0:40:45..the result of a carefully organised plot,
0:40:45 > 0:40:49designed to cause the maximum disruption to the life of the city.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Lattarulo looked even weaker with hunger today than usual
0:41:05 > 0:41:07and swayed from the waist,
0:41:07 > 0:41:09eyes closed, even when sitting down.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13After our chat, I decided to take him for a meal to one of
0:41:13 > 0:41:16the side-street restaurants that have opened in the past few days.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21We found the restaurant and took our seats among the middle-class patrons
0:41:21 > 0:41:23who kept their overcoats on against the cold.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28All the coats were made from our stolen blankets.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33No attempt was made to isolate the customers from the street.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Ragged hawk-eyed boys,
0:41:38 > 0:41:41the celebrated scugnizzi of Naples,
0:41:41 > 0:41:43wandered among the tables ready to dive on
0:41:43 > 0:41:45any crusts that appeared to be overlooked
0:41:45 > 0:41:49or to snatch up leftovers before they could be thrown to the cats.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52Once again, I couldn't help noticing the intelligence,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55almost the intellectuality of their expressions.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59No attempt was made to chase them away.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02They were simply treated as non-existent.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17Suddenly, five or six little girls between the ages of nine and twelve
0:42:17 > 0:42:19appeared in the doorway.
0:42:19 > 0:42:23They wore hideous straight black uniforms,
0:42:23 > 0:42:25buttoned under their chins,
0:42:25 > 0:42:28and black boots and stockings and their hair
0:42:28 > 0:42:30had been shorn short, prison-style.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37They were all weeping and, as they clung to each other and groped their
0:42:37 > 0:42:40way towards us, bumping into chairs and tables,
0:42:40 > 0:42:43I realised they were all blind.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51Tragedy and despair had been thrust upon us and would not be shut out.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56I expected the indifferent diners to push back their plates,
0:42:56 > 0:42:59to get up and hold out their arms, but nobody moved.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05Forkfuls of food were thrust into open mouths.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07The rattle of conversation continued.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09Nobody saw the tears.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16They had been brought down here, he found out,
0:43:16 > 0:43:19on a half-day's outing by an attendant who seemed unable
0:43:19 > 0:43:22or unwilling to stop them from being lured away by the smell of food.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27The experience changed my outlook.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33Until now, I had clung to the comforting belief that human beings
0:43:33 > 0:43:36eventually come to terms with pain and sorrow.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40Now I understood I was wrong.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44And like Paul, I suffered a conversion.
0:43:44 > 0:43:45But to pessimism.
0:43:46 > 0:43:51These little girls, any one of whom could be my daughter,
0:43:51 > 0:43:53came into the restaurant weeping
0:43:53 > 0:43:56and they were weeping when they were led away.
0:43:56 > 0:44:01I knew that condemned to everlasting darkness, hunger and loss,
0:44:01 > 0:44:04they would weep on incessantly.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09They would never recover from their pain and I would never recover from
0:44:09 > 0:44:11the memory of it.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04- ARCHIVE:- Naples was ripe for epidemic typhus.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07The armies of Adolf Hitler had disembowelled the city.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10We were stopped at a bottleneck caused by a collapsed building in
0:45:10 > 0:45:11the Via Chiatamone
0:45:11 > 0:45:13where a sanitary post had been set up.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19And here every passer-by was sprayed with a white powder
0:45:19 > 0:45:21against the typhus.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25The news is that Naples is now officially suffering
0:45:25 > 0:45:26from two epidemics...
0:45:29 > 0:45:31..smallpox and typhoid.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35People accept malaria as a matter of course in this town.
0:45:37 > 0:45:42Epidemics, robbers, funerals followed by shrieking women,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45deformed and mutilated beggars, legless cripples
0:45:45 > 0:45:48dragging themselves about on wheeled platforms,
0:45:48 > 0:45:51even raving lunatics they'd no room for in the asylum.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56People walked the streets with handkerchiefs pressed over
0:45:56 > 0:45:59their mouths and noses as they probably did in the days
0:45:59 > 0:46:00of the plagues of old.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05This morning I actually found myself in a little square tucked away among
0:46:05 > 0:46:09the ruins, where women were dancing to drive the sickness away.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15The war has pushed the Neapolitans back into the Middle Ages.
0:46:17 > 0:46:22Churches are suddenly full of images that talk, bleed, sweat,
0:46:22 > 0:46:25nod their heads and exude health-giving liquors to be mopped
0:46:25 > 0:46:31up by handkerchiefs, or even collected in bottles, and anxious,
0:46:31 > 0:46:34ecstatic crowds gather, waiting for these marvels to happen.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39Naples has reached a state of nervous exhaustion,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42when mass hallucination has become a commonplace
0:46:42 > 0:46:47and belief of any kind can be more real than reality.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36INDISTINCT SHOUTING
0:48:45 > 0:48:49- ARCHIVE:- The port was working again and supplies came flooding in.
0:48:49 > 0:48:56Food, bombs, shells, tanks, plane parts, petrol, lorries,
0:48:56 > 0:48:59supplies for peace and supplies for war.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24The black market flourishes as never before.
0:49:25 > 0:49:2865% of the per capita income of Neapolitans derives from
0:49:28 > 0:49:30transactions in
0:49:30 > 0:49:34stolen Allied supplies, and one third of all supplies and equipment
0:49:34 > 0:49:37imported continued to disappear into the black market.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40Every single item of Allied equipment,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43short of guns and munitions, which are said to be
0:49:43 > 0:49:46sold under the counter, is openly displayed for sale
0:49:46 > 0:49:48in the Forcella market.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58No feat, according to the newspapers and to public rumour,
0:50:58 > 0:51:02is too outrageous for this new breed of robber.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07Nothing has been too large or too small,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10from telegraph poles to phials of penicillin,
0:51:10 > 0:51:12to escape the Neapolitan kleptomania.
0:51:18 > 0:51:19A week or two ago,
0:51:19 > 0:51:23an orchestra playing at the San Carlo to an audience largely clothed
0:51:23 > 0:51:25in Allied hospital blankets
0:51:25 > 0:51:29returned from a five-minute interval to find all its instruments missing.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35A theoretically priceless collection of Roman cameos
0:51:35 > 0:51:36was abstracted from the museum
0:51:36 > 0:51:40and replaced by modern imitations, the thief only learning,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43so the reports go, when he came to dispose of his booty
0:51:43 > 0:51:45that the originals themselves were counterfeit.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51Now the statues are disappearing from the public squares
0:51:51 > 0:51:54and one cemetery has lost most of its tombstones.
0:51:56 > 0:52:00Even the manhole covers have been found to have a marketable value,
0:52:00 > 0:52:04so that suddenly these too have all gone and everywhere
0:52:04 > 0:52:07there are holes in the road.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10- 1.- What do you say?
0:52:10 > 0:52:13Well, let's give it to him. We'll have a try.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15- Come on.- There.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21- All right.- Let's go.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24- Hey, come back! - THEY SHOUT
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Already at the end of February,
0:52:36 > 0:52:40winter is slipping away and the onset of the melancholy of spring is
0:52:40 > 0:52:44announced by the seller of broad beans, who passes under our windows,
0:52:44 > 0:52:47always at dusk, with the saddest of cries.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49"A fava fresca."
0:52:50 > 0:52:55The warmth of the sun comes through and seeps into the cold walls and
0:52:55 > 0:52:57the town wakes to new life.
0:52:58 > 0:53:03On sale now - and only in this season - is a pagan springtime cake,
0:53:03 > 0:53:08pastiera napoletana, made with soft grain of all kinds,
0:53:08 > 0:53:10removed from their husks months before ripe
0:53:10 > 0:53:12and cooked with orange blossom.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24The Vico Satriano, the narrow street overlooked by one
0:53:24 > 0:53:26side of our building,
0:53:26 > 0:53:29hums with activity as a great, vociferous spring-cleaning
0:53:29 > 0:53:33begins and unwanted objects of all kinds - chipped crockery,
0:53:33 > 0:53:34broken vessels,
0:53:34 > 0:53:38irreparable articles of furniture - follow the slops into the street.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45Everyone shouts, gesticulates and sings snatches
0:53:45 > 0:53:46of mournful love songs,
0:53:46 > 0:53:51such as Ammore Busciardo - "Love The Traitor" -
0:53:51 > 0:53:54and a boy has appeared in the street corner beneath us selling for five
0:53:54 > 0:53:58lire a collection of 25 of the latest ballads,
0:53:58 > 0:54:01all of them dedicated to romantic frustration.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30A bad raid last night with heavy civilian casualties,
0:54:30 > 0:54:34as usual in the densely populated port areas.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40In Santa Lucia, home territory of the Neapolitan ballad,
0:54:40 > 0:54:42I saw a heart-rending scene.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48A number of tiny children had been dug out of the ruins of a bombed
0:54:48 > 0:54:51building and lay side by side in the street.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56Where presentable, their faces were uncovered and, in some cases,
0:54:56 > 0:55:00brand-new dolls had been thrust into their arms
0:55:00 > 0:55:02to accompany them to the other world.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09One man climbed into the rubble and was calling into a hole
0:55:09 > 0:55:12where he believed his little boy was trapped under hundreds of tons of
0:55:12 > 0:55:17masonry, begging him not to die before he could be dug out.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23"Hang on, son, only a few minutes longer now.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26"We'll have you out of there in a minute.
0:55:26 > 0:55:27"Please don't die."
0:56:54 > 0:56:58MUSIC: Before It Gets Dark by Rigolo
0:57:06 > 0:57:09Today Vesuvius erupted.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15It was the most majestic and terrible sight I have ever seen
0:57:15 > 0:57:16or ever expect to see.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22The smoke from the crater slowly built up into a great bulging shape,
0:57:22 > 0:57:25having all the appearance of solidity.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29It swelled and expanded so slowly that there was no sign of movement
0:57:29 > 0:57:30in the cloud, which by evening
0:57:30 > 0:57:35must have risen 30 or 40,000 feet into the sky and measured many miles
0:57:35 > 0:57:39across. The sky was fogged over and ash was falling, and
0:57:39 > 0:57:42everything, the buildings, streets and fields,
0:57:42 > 0:57:46was covered to a depth of a half-inch in a smooth grey pall.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52There was fear for the safety of military installations in areas such
0:57:52 > 0:57:53as Portici and Torre del Greco,
0:57:53 > 0:57:58which always suffer the worst effects of an eruption of Vesuvius,
0:57:58 > 0:58:01and I was instructed to find out what the prospects were, if these
0:58:01 > 0:58:05could in any way be gauged, of a worsening in the situation.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10An increase in the violence of the eruption
0:58:10 > 0:58:13and also of the population's fears
0:58:13 > 0:58:15following the news that San Sebastiano was about to be carried
0:58:15 > 0:58:19away by the lava stream and Cercola was threatened -
0:58:19 > 0:58:22I was sent to get an on-the-spot report.
0:58:23 > 0:58:27Sticky going all the way through the ash with several skids,
0:58:27 > 0:58:29I was right under the great grey cloud,
0:58:29 > 0:58:33full of swellings and protuberances like some colossal pulsating brain.
0:59:47 > 0:59:50At the time of my arrival at San Sebastiano,
0:59:50 > 0:59:55the lava was pushing its way very quietly down the main street,
0:59:55 > 0:59:58and about 50 yards from the edge of this great
0:59:58 > 1:00:01slowly shifting slag heap,
1:00:01 > 1:00:05a crowd of several hundred people, mostly in black, knelt in prayer.
1:00:09 > 1:00:12The spectacle of the eruption was totally unexpected.
1:00:20 > 1:00:24I had been prepared for rivers of fire but there was no fire and no
1:00:24 > 1:00:28burning anywhere, only the slow, deliberate suffocation of the town
1:00:28 > 1:00:32under millions of tons of clinkers.
1:00:32 > 1:00:35The lava was moving at a rate of only a few yards an hour and it had
1:00:35 > 1:00:38covered half the town to a depth of perhaps 30 feet.
1:00:41 > 1:00:44The whole process was strangely quiet.
1:00:45 > 1:00:47The black slag heap shook,
1:00:47 > 1:00:51trembled and jerked a little and cinders rattled down its slope.
1:00:55 > 1:00:56Dominant in every way,
1:00:56 > 1:00:59for sheer size and the number of persons supporting the platform,
1:00:59 > 1:01:04of images confronting the eruption was that of San Sebastiano himself.
1:01:04 > 1:01:07But wandering away into a side street,
1:01:07 > 1:01:10I noticed the presence of another image also with numerous attendants,
1:01:10 > 1:01:12which was covered with a white sheet.
1:01:14 > 1:01:16This was an image of San Gennaro,
1:01:16 > 1:01:20smuggled in from Naples on an outside chance that it might be
1:01:20 > 1:01:22of some use if all else failed.
1:01:54 > 1:01:58It is believed by Neapolitans of all political creeds and degrees of
1:01:58 > 1:02:01religious conviction that the fortunes of the city
1:02:01 > 1:02:04depend on the miracle of San Gennaro.
1:02:10 > 1:02:14A good miracle is one in which the blood liquefies quickly...
1:02:15 > 1:02:18..while the failure of the miracle is taken as a sign of the saint's
1:02:18 > 1:02:22extreme displeasure and regarded as a catastrophe.
1:02:24 > 1:02:27Fear is expressed that the blood of San Gennaro may refuse to liquefy
1:02:27 > 1:02:31this year and that such a failure might be exploited by secret
1:02:31 > 1:02:35anti-Allied factions and troublemakers to set off large-scale
1:02:35 > 1:02:38rioting of the kind that has frequently happened in Neapolitan
1:02:38 > 1:02:41history when the miracle has failed.
1:03:56 > 1:04:01At about eight o'clock, the saint gave way to this new pressure and
1:04:01 > 1:04:02the miracle took place.
1:04:19 > 1:04:27# Jesce sole
1:04:31 > 1:04:39# Jesce sole
1:04:41 > 1:04:48# Jesce sole
1:04:49 > 1:05:03# Nun te fa' cchiu suspira... #
1:05:10 > 1:05:13The fragmentation of Italian politics in reaction to
1:05:13 > 1:05:17the long-stagnant acquiescence under fascism continues.
1:05:17 > 1:05:21There are now some 60 officially recognised political parties, having
1:05:21 > 1:05:25memberships ranging from 100 or so to nearly two million.
1:05:27 > 1:05:29Of all the emergent political forces, the most numerous,
1:05:29 > 1:05:32powerful and rational outside Naples,
1:05:32 > 1:05:34in which the urban subproletariat
1:05:34 > 1:05:38is royalist to a man, are the Christian Democrats,
1:05:38 > 1:05:41the Social Democrats and Orthodox Communists.
1:05:44 > 1:05:47CHEERING
1:05:55 > 1:05:57CHEERING
1:06:03 > 1:06:06CHEERING
1:06:10 > 1:06:13CHEERING
1:07:05 > 1:07:08I am concerned at the increasing number of applications by officers
1:07:08 > 1:07:10or other ranks to marry Italian civilians.
1:07:12 > 1:07:15The Bureau of Psychological Warfare has just stated in its bulletin that
1:07:15 > 1:07:19there are 42,000 women in Naples engaged either on a regular
1:07:19 > 1:07:22or occasional basis in prostitution.
1:07:23 > 1:07:29This, out of a nubile female population of perhaps 150,000,
1:07:29 > 1:07:30seems incredible.
1:07:33 > 1:07:36Three out of four of these girls I have interviewed will probably
1:07:36 > 1:07:38cease to be prostitutes as soon as they can hope to keep alive
1:07:38 > 1:07:40by any other means.
1:07:41 > 1:07:46Nine out of ten Italian girls have lost their menfolk -
1:07:46 > 1:07:48who have either disappeared in battles,
1:07:48 > 1:07:51into prisoner-of-war camps or been cut off in the north.
1:07:52 > 1:07:54The whole population is out of work.
1:07:54 > 1:07:56Nobody produces anything.
1:07:56 > 1:07:57How are they to live?
1:08:04 > 1:08:08A circular issued by the general officer commanding is probably
1:08:08 > 1:08:09the real reason
1:08:09 > 1:08:12behind the sudden coming to an end of my investigation into the
1:08:12 > 1:08:15suitability of marriages proposed between the British soldiery
1:08:15 > 1:08:17and Italian girls in the Naples area.
1:08:19 > 1:08:21In the first three months,
1:08:21 > 1:08:2443 such vettings have been carried out
1:08:24 > 1:08:26and in 12 cases the report has been favourable.
1:08:29 > 1:08:31However this may be, I am out of it for good,
1:08:31 > 1:08:34having been relieved by the field security officer of this particular
1:08:34 > 1:08:38duty in so subtle a fashion that I am bound to suspect that after
1:08:38 > 1:08:42a year of close contact with the seamy side of life in Naples,
1:08:42 > 1:08:44he's been unable to avoid infection
1:08:44 > 1:08:46by the deviousness of the environment.
1:08:57 > 1:08:58Hello, Yossarian.
1:09:00 > 1:09:02Huh.
1:09:03 > 1:09:06- I didn't know. - That I work for Milo?
1:09:06 > 1:09:08Everybody works for Milo.
1:09:09 > 1:09:10Yeah.
1:09:11 > 1:09:14Well, he told me to ask for number 33.
1:09:14 > 1:09:16Mm-hm. 33.
1:09:20 > 1:09:2210, please.
1:09:29 > 1:09:31No towel, Yossarian?
1:09:33 > 1:09:36PIANO PLAYS RAG
1:09:48 > 1:09:50A most embarrassing episode happened today.
1:09:51 > 1:09:55Mobs of youths began to assault girls found in the company
1:09:55 > 1:09:59of Allied soldiers. The girls were chased and, when caught,
1:09:59 > 1:10:01their knickers were torn off.
1:10:01 > 1:10:04Soldiers who intervened to defend their girls were promptly beaten up.
1:10:06 > 1:10:10The incident highlighted an unhappy and deteriorating situation produced
1:10:10 > 1:10:13by the encroachment of the Allied presence on the emotional
1:10:13 > 1:10:15and romantic life of the city.
1:10:19 > 1:10:22Then the foreign soldiers came on the scene and were in immediate
1:10:22 > 1:10:25collision with the local boys, who had no work, no prestige, no money,
1:10:25 > 1:10:27absolutely nothing to offer the girls.
1:10:29 > 1:10:32A British private, wretchedly paid as he is,
1:10:32 > 1:10:34earns more than a foreman at the navali mechannica,
1:10:34 > 1:10:36while an American private,
1:10:36 > 1:10:37who can shower cigarettes,
1:10:37 > 1:10:40sweets and even silk stockings in all directions,
1:10:40 > 1:10:44has a higher income than any Italian employee in Naples.
1:10:46 > 1:10:48Thus, the long, delicate,
1:10:48 > 1:10:51intricate business of the old Neapolitan courtship,
1:10:51 > 1:10:55as complex as the mating ritual of exotic birds,
1:10:55 > 1:10:57is replaced by a brutal,
1:10:57 > 1:11:00wordless approach and a crude act of purchase.
1:11:03 > 1:11:06One wonders how long it will take the young of Naples
1:11:06 > 1:11:09after we have gone to recover from the bitterness of this experience.
1:11:09 > 1:11:14MUSIC: Parlami d'Amore Mariu by Mario Lanza
1:11:51 > 1:11:55The fact is that we have upset the balance of nature here.
1:11:57 > 1:12:00And I have arrived at a time when, in their hearts,
1:12:00 > 1:12:03these people must be thoroughly sick and tired of us.
1:12:04 > 1:12:07A year ago we liberated them from the fascist monster.
1:12:08 > 1:12:12And they still sit doing their best to smile politely at us...
1:12:13 > 1:12:17..as hungry as ever, more disease-ridden than ever before,
1:12:17 > 1:12:20in the ruins of their beautiful city,
1:12:20 > 1:12:21where law and order have ceased to exist.
1:12:23 > 1:12:26And what is the prize that is to be eventually won?
1:12:27 > 1:12:29The rebirth of democracy.
1:12:30 > 1:12:32The glorious prospect of being able one day
1:12:32 > 1:12:35to choose their rulers from a list of powerful men,
1:12:35 > 1:12:38most of whose corruptions are generally known and accepted
1:12:38 > 1:12:40with weary resignation.
1:12:41 > 1:12:45The days of Benito Mussolini must seem like a lost paradise compared
1:12:45 > 1:12:47with this.
1:12:57 > 1:13:00CROWD ROARS
1:13:57 > 1:13:59CHEERING
1:13:59 > 1:14:02BRASS BAND PLAYS
1:15:28 > 1:15:30The thunderbolt has fallen.
1:15:32 > 1:15:36Today I was ordered to prepare to leave immediately for Taranto
1:15:36 > 1:15:39to embark on the Reina del Pacifico for Port Said,
1:15:39 > 1:15:42where I am to pick up 3,000 Russian soldiers
1:15:42 > 1:15:44who had been fighting with the Germans
1:15:44 > 1:15:45and gone over to the partisans.
1:15:47 > 1:15:48The Allied force headquarters' order reads,
1:15:48 > 1:15:51"You will be away as long as necessary,"
1:15:51 > 1:15:54but does not define the duties to be performed.
1:15:55 > 1:15:59My intuition warns me that my stay in Naples has come to an end,
1:15:59 > 1:16:03so I am left with only hours to spare and no time to say goodbye to
1:16:03 > 1:16:07any of the friends scattered through so many towns.
1:16:08 > 1:16:12There will be no time for a last glass of Marsala with any of
1:16:12 > 1:16:13the scheming syndicates
1:16:13 > 1:16:16or the Machiavellian chiefs of police who have always,
1:16:16 > 1:16:19for all their innumerable shortcomings,
1:16:19 > 1:16:21shown hospitality to me as a stranger.
1:16:23 > 1:16:27There will be no time for a last coffee substitute in the Gran Caffe
1:16:27 > 1:16:31in the Galleria to say goodbye and good luck to several girls who are
1:16:31 > 1:16:35virtually fixtures at the place and bear me no ill will because I was
1:16:35 > 1:16:37unable to help them to marry Allied personnel.
1:16:39 > 1:16:43I realise that I have had my last meal at Zi Teresa's.
1:16:43 > 1:16:46There won't be even a half-hour to spare for a dash up to the Vomero
1:16:46 > 1:16:51for a last panoramic view across the gardens of the Villa Floridiana,
1:16:51 > 1:16:55of the great grey and red city spread below,
1:16:55 > 1:16:58presenting at this distance a totally fallacious aspect
1:16:58 > 1:16:59of dignified calm...
1:17:00 > 1:17:04..or for a final contemplation of the somnolent Vesuvius,
1:17:04 > 1:17:07so changed in outline since its reshaping by the eruption.
1:17:10 > 1:17:14A year among the Italians had converted me to such an admiration
1:17:14 > 1:17:15for their humanity and culture
1:17:15 > 1:17:18that I realised that were I given the chance to be
1:17:18 > 1:17:21born again and to choose the place of my birth,
1:17:21 > 1:17:23Italy would be the country of my choice.
1:17:28 > 1:17:31Perhaps when everything is ready for the move-off,
1:17:31 > 1:17:34at half past six tomorrow from the Stazione Centrale,
1:17:34 > 1:17:38there will at least be a moment left to call on Lattarulo,
1:17:38 > 1:17:40most faithful of my Neapolitan allies.
1:17:42 > 1:17:45I know in advance that having staggered under the impact
1:17:45 > 1:17:50of the news and then recovered with proper fortitude, he will whisper,
1:17:50 > 1:17:52"I've got a treat for you."
1:17:53 > 1:17:57This he will describe as caccia, game,
1:17:57 > 1:18:01but it will be a muscled city pigeon netted on someone's roof.
1:18:01 > 1:18:04He will dash out to find the neighbourhood girl, who will stew it
1:18:04 > 1:18:07in garlic and herbs and serve it up on the great ancestral salver.
1:18:17 > 1:18:19When it is time to go, he will take my hand and say,
1:18:19 > 1:18:22"I'll be at the station tomorrow to see you off."
1:18:23 > 1:18:25And I know he will be there, as promised...
1:18:26 > 1:18:30..dressed in all the dignity of his zio di Roma suit
1:18:30 > 1:18:31for such an occasion.