The Tail of the Lizard

As a flight engineer in the Italian Royal Airforce, Vittorio Dall’Anese (1911–1992) participated in the Spanish Civil War, the North African campaign and other key events that marked the 20th century. The vocational history he committed to tape, here presented for the first time, recounts the risk and secrecy, as well as the sense of duty and camaraderie, that characterise warfare. All these themes were a source of inspiration for Annamaria, whose impressionistic texts punctuate her grandfather’s tale. Her imaginative and atmospheric prose, together with previously unpublished photographs and documents from the family archives, offers an inventive juxtaposition to Vittorio’s rich and at times gripping historical account.