"Around the age of 26, I was drafted to serve in the military. You might say: poor thing! Not at all: it was one of the most beautiful periods of my life. True, I was in a "punitive" battalion in Cividale: the mechanized battalion of Naples. But this only meant that I did drills and exercises all over Italy. And night watches in sentry posts armed with a rifle (but I would sneak sandwiches and tea into my uniform: totally forbidden!)."