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Based on a true story, set against the background of World War II.
This is a narrative of the twentieth
century depicting historical events as experienced through the lives of an Italian wine exporter and his family.
Flags and images portrayed on the cover relate to the story.
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It is early September, 2001. New York’s World
Trade Center is no more. In Orlando, Florida, Vittorio Perantoni, now 89 years of age, sees that event as but a continuation
of what began in 1914 – the First World War. But why? In his teens during the 1930’s, an Italian
living in Lwow, Poland, he and Luigi work with their father, Carlo, at operating the family’s successful winery-pasta
tavern, and managing their import business of distributing wine from Italy. But Hitler’s 1939 invasion of Poland changes
all of that. When the Italian Consulate orders Italian nationals to leave Poland, the Perantonis are suddenly forced to leave
their considerable wealth behind. Victor’s girlfriends will also be left behind as he flees to Switzerland to avoid
the Italian fascist draft. Left too are his friends Andrẻ, Franki, and “Padre.” All of these persons will
be scattered as they face the fears, hardships, and physical abuses of the war. The war drags on as Europe burns. His friends
Andrẻ and Franki are commandeered into the Russian Army; his girlfriend Dani faces deportation to a Nazi death camp;
and Vittorio too is nearly captured and imprisoned. All are wondering: will life ever be the same again? “Arrivederci Leopolis—The Lion’s War” will show you the early 20th Century through the eyes of the Perantoni
family. You will see it as you have never seen it before, its terrors and tragedies. You will see Vittorio’s Italian
hometown Volargne di Dolcé, literally disappear in one instant! You will know why Vittorio sees World War I as the
preamble to the destruction of New York’s World Trade Center.
It's food for the inquiring mind. Buon Appetito! |
'Arrivederci Leopolis. The Lion's War' narrates tragic
war-time experiences endured by Victor Perantoni and his three stamp collector friends, who found themselves on both
sides of enemy lines. The picture below shows Victor (in suspenders and knickers) with his older friend Andre Frodel,
an avid stamp collector, main character and hero of our book. As an Allied Polish officer he fought alongside
brave Polish soldiers in battles of Montecassino and Bologna Italy. "The Lion's War" is named after the city where Victor was born, Lwow (Lviv-Lemberg-Leopolis)
which means "Lions" and "City of Lion", names related to several cultural occupations. The title
of our book refers to the historical fact that the population of Eastern Poland and the city of Lwow were invaded
four times by two aggressive and violent armies in the first two years of WWII. Polish soldiers fought valiantly against
the Nazis for the freedom of their country, but in 1945 when Allied nations celebrated victory, Poland fell captive to the
soviets once more, and their brave Polish army could not return to their homeland, having gained nothing for their sacrifices. |
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Click on picture to view gallery of photos related to
our family story "Arrivederci Leopolis. The Lion's War".
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ABOUT THE SCREENPLAY
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The
group photo below was taken inside the inner-courtyard of the "Winiarnia Italia" building, circa 1929-1930. The fourteen
individuals posing with Carlo and Victor had been guests for lunch at the Winiarnia, on that afternoon. Click on
pictures for large views. |
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Rare photograph of Benito Mussolini with entourage, taken by Victor Perantoni at age 18 (about 1929-1930).
The
image above depicts the complete photograph on its original mounting board (click to expand at 400 dpi).
The image below expands to a sharp high resolution 800 dpi.
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RARE PHOTOGRAPH OF BENITO MUSSOLINI AND OTHERS.
This photograph taken in Lwow, Polish Galicia (Lviv Ukraine)
defies modern historical accounts of the subject personages.
Victor Perantoni was an avid photographer who, at age
18 (circa 1929-30), took this photograph of Benito Mussolini with entourage, for his father Carlo (bald man with mustache)
sitting third from right in the place of honor next to Italy’s Fascist Duce Benito Mussolini (who is seated third from
left).
The photograph is in excellent condition, and it measures approximately 8
¾ x 6 ⅜ (inches) and it is mounted on a 13 ¼ x 11 ⅛ decorative cardstock, mounted by the original
photo atelier “Rembrandt of Lwow” circa 1929-30.
BACKGROUND: In the year
1905 grandfather Carlo Perantoni started an Italian wine import-export business, and later he opened a Winery Inn Tavern in
the city of Lwow in south eastern Poland, a region which is Ukraine today. It was a well known social Inn frequented by artists,
academics, and popular among Italian travelers.
The tavern was named “Winiarnia Italia”,
also known as “Carlo Perantoni's Wine and Pasta Shop.” In 1920, prior to the fascist period,
Carlo was appointed as the Honorary Vice Consul for Italian Foreign affairs in South Eastern Poland, by authority of King
Victor Emanuel III.
One day in late 1929 (or early 1930) Benito Mussolini visited
grandfather's Winery Inn accompanied by an entourage of thirteen aspiring fascists from various regions of Europe. Carlo and
Victor served a north Italian pasta lunch to them, and then asked to take this group photo.
Victor
arranged the chairs and he lined up the guests. He set his Zeiss-Ikon-Ikonta foldout camera on a tripod, he set the camera
on automatic shutter, then he ran behind the group and stood up on a wine box centering himself with Italy's Fascist
flag, above the group. Note the "Fascio di Leopoli" banner attached to the flag. Also,
Victor’s mother and aunt appear in the window.
This is the only original photograph
in existence. It has seen light of day only a few times since grandfather Carlo evacuated his family from
Poland to Italy in 1939, at the onset of the nazi invasion. Later the Cold War, which followed World War II, prevented our
family from returning to Eastern Poland, which had become Soviet Ukraine.
The irony is that our family lost a prosperous wine import and tavern business,
a retail wine shop, an affluent eight-unit apartment building, and wealthy bank accounts, all because of the later associations
of Benito Mussolini who visited the Winiarnia Italia and posed in Victor's photograph.
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This photograph defies historical accounts
of the subject personages.
This
photograph proves to be historically controversial due to the fact that one of the young fascists in the group, dressed in
a light plaid suit, has a marked resemblance to Adolf Hitler, although history notes that Hitler and Mussolini did not meet
until nineteen thirty-four, and that was in Venice Italy, not Lwow (Leopolis) Poland. History books are very specific
about that, but this photo, along with the following plausible explanation, questions the accuracy of the historical
record. Hitler had great respect and admiration for
Mussolini - Europe's political superstar of that period - but the respect was not mutual. He also knew that IL Duce was open
to meeting with political leaders, and especially young aspiring fascists who were sympathetic to the Blackshirt movement,
and he met with them often. Historical records reveal that Hitler tried more than once to meet with Mussolini formally,
and each time he was denied. But why? This was definitely out of character for Duce Benito Mussolini
who was promoting worldwide fascism. What could be the reason for Benito Mussolini's contempt and refusals?
Well, it may have originated from a possible previous introduction in nineteen twenty-nine at the luncheon in
our ‘Winiarnia Italia' pasta tavern in Lwow Poland (shortly before this group photo was taken), during which IL Duce
was annoyed when the young man in the plaid suit spoke proudly about how the Germanic people had not lost the ‘Great
War'. Though granting that the Central Powers had indeed lost the war, he insisted that it was not the fault of the
people nor the soldiers of Germany and Austria, and he arrogantly assigned blame to everyone else, while blowing
the Germanic trumpet about how the 'Great War' was unjustly lost. And this in Duce Benito Mussolini's presence, ignoring
altogether that Mussolini himself had served in that war, but on the opposite side! That incident could be the reason why Benito Mussolini continued
to refuse an official meeting with Adolf Hitler. In her memoirs, Donna Rachele (Mussolini's wife) wrote that her husband
often expressed contempt for Hitler, and that he used to call him "una scimmietta," a silly little monkey,
as in "monkey see, monkey do". But history reports that four years later, in nineteen thirty-three, after his appointment as Chancellor of Germany,
Hitler stated: "Now that I'm a 'head-of-state' he'll have to meet with me." But still Mussolini kept
him waiting - another eighteen months, until June of ‘thirty-four when he finally agreed to meet the man. However, when
they finally met officially - 14 June 1934, as is publicly recorded - it was not in Rome. Oh, no! That meeting
was not to take place at the capitol, in the heart of Italy. Instead, Mussolini met him in Venice, an anteroom to
Italy! A city renowned for tourism! And following an unfortunate suggestion made by Ulrich Von Hassel, Germany's
ambassador in Rome, Hitler regrettably arrived dressed in civilian clothes. Standing next to IL Duce who was dressed in full
military regalia as the world's leader of fascism, Hitler indeed looked like a tourist! However, that meeting was staged with a large military parade to receive worldwide media coverage. It was for
the public! It was orchestrated to show Fascist Italy's superiority over Nazi Germany, and IL Duce's dominance over
Adolf Hitler ... or maybe his disdain for him, for that too was noticeable. History has shown itself to be fallible, and this photograph defies the historical meeting of
14 June 1934. The above explanation is why we believe that the young fascist in the plaid suit is indeed Adolf
Hitler.
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