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They are old relics from WWII like the cars used by the Eighth Army Allies during their campaign through Friuli – who knows if General Montgomery had ever been carried on it! As well as a beautifully restored Afrika Korps “Kubelwagen” designed by Ing. Porsche with the VW engine of the future Beetle. But what surprised us was the perfectly restored Willie, the famous Jeep of the US Army. The symbol on the front is the typical four leaved clover of the Blue Devils, the regiment which stationed in Friuli for a few years after the war (1945-46).
We can’t help but wonder about all the stories, the people and places the vehicles had seen over the years, like the Major General Bryant E. Moore head commander of the troops at the time, or the Lieutenant Colonel Ralph E. Haines who was also leading the patrol station at the Villa. Or perhaps even used by an old soldier, Sidney Bernstein who was stationed at the Villa during the war, and some years ago returned to visit the Villa after 60 years! Did Sidney and his friend Sweenie drive to the local pub called the “sugar bowl” where soldiers use to meet at the time!?
Maybe it was also them who left their ‘mark’ on the Bar Room inside the Villa…After a few too many drinks soldiers used to entertain themselves by throwing their army knives into the wooden door! The marks are still there to this day and the memories will live on forever.
