Salonica
Friday 11 August 1916
The Italian war armada moored at the bustling harbor of Salonica in the morning of 11 August, under the cheers and racket of the boisterous gangs of children with dreadlocked hair and the cunning sparkling eyes as contrasted to the indifferent looks of the passers-by. The Italian 35th Reinforced Division disembarked on the beachfront King Constantine Avenue and paraded in full gear and formation under the marches of the British and French military bands.
Armies. Armies everywhere. Camions, canons, cavalry, machine guns, horses, mules, carriages. The military convoy headed out for the camps on Vardaris. Dust was hovering everywhere. The air was sour. Sweat, blood, semen and urine.
The bell of the tram sounded, an out-of-context happy sound amidst that mart
