Besides hospitals, barracks where soldiers could rest and military stores, Soldiers’ Homes were set up in many towns and villages behind the war front. These recreational centres were promoted by the Catholic Church and particularly by Don Giovanni Minozzi. While serving as a military chaplain during the war in Libya, this priest became convinced that during their rest periods away from the frontlines soldiers should not relax by indulging themselves in drink and sex but should instead attend recreational centres where they could listen to music, watch theatrical performances, read papers or books, attend writing classes (many soldiers were unable to write) and write letters to their loved ones.
Military commanders viewed this initiative as a positive move because Soldiers’ Houses could increase confidence among the fighters and lead indirectly to the assimilation of values and idea. This gave rise to several initiatives aimed at soldiers which, in a light manner and without being boring, put forward messages that were clearly patriotic such as the puppet show in which “Guglielmone” (or rather Wilhelm II of Germany) was beaten by Pulcinella dressed as a soldier.
This initiative by Don Minozzi was quite successful and before the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo there were twenty-seven Soldiers’ Houses in the sector of the First Army, eleven in that of the Second, seventeen in the area of the Third Army, thirty in that of the Fourth Army and about ten in Carnia.
