It was in 1918 that our great-grandfather Giuseppe Collodel (himself a farmer and winegrower) came down with pleurisy, a terrifying illness which at that time, would result in an ominous end, more often than not.
The First World War was coming to an end and the Battle of Caporetto had marked the retreat of Italian troops to the Piave river and the advance of the Austrians.
This legendary defeat of our army, however, proved a real stroke of luck for our ancestor, who was carefully nursed back to health by an Austrian doctor. “Bepo’s” recovery seemed so completely unexpected that none of his neighbours “would have bet a paeànca” that their friend would survive…