The villa Colonel Bernhard had commandeered for himself and his men was on a hill in the outskirts of Rome. It was a magnificent structure, which the German officer thought he was entitled to, with broad terraces looking across the narrow valley that separated the estate from the buzz of life in the Eternal City.
The terrace that fronted the best view had with a stone portico, supported by great columns made of Carrara marble. A long wooden table and a dozen chairs served Bernhard when he desired to entertain his troops. This night he did, to celebrate the day"s capture of this splendid villa and to allow the men the opportunity to remind the colonel of how popular he was among them.
But the meal would have been incomplete without a bevy of young Italian women who cooked and served it. N
