Il campo di concentramento per prigionieri di guerra di Fonte d'Amore e la formazione della Legione cecoslovacca (1916-1918)

During the final year of the Great War, the Italian government authorized the enlistment of Czech and Slovak prisoners in order to form a Legion within Italy’s own borders. In this essay the author concentrates on two points: the first explores wartime imprisonment in Abruzzo, with particular reference to the Fonte d’Amore concentration camp; the second focuses on the enlistment of Czech and Slovak prisoners being held in the camp. From April 1918 until the end of the War the Fonte d’Amore camp was the main destination for Czech and Slovak prisoners who fought against the Austro- Hungarian Empire to bring about the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic, which was achieved on October 28, 191