During the First World War Italy joined the Allied Powers in 1915. On Feb 11th 1916 Emma Goldman is arrested for lecturing on birth control in the US. A few months later, on May 4 1916, activist Jane Jacobs was born. On March 4th 1917 Woodrow Wilson was sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. On August 14th 1917 the Republic of China declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. On August 29th 2017 Canada passed the Military Service Act in order to give the Canadian government the right to conscript men into the army. A day later, on August 30th 1917, Augusto penned a letter to his love.

It’s hard to tell if the letter ever got sent.

A te sola che amo, ardentemente, ti invio un mio verso, sul motivo, di Ladra

ma ora (Amore)

Il primo giorno che io t'o [ti ho] veduta, il cuore mio, fù colpito in pièn. A scriverti m'affrettai all'insaputa per poterti giurare eterna fè!!

E tu!.. E tu!..

Che sola col tuo amore vivere mi fai. Ti dono il cuore per farne quel che vuoi è [e] il tuo bel volto non lo scordo mai.

Fine.

Tu sola amico[a] mio[a] idolo consolatore, affettuosamente. Ti saluto, e ti bacio, e credermi in eterno, il tuo per sempre.

Augusto.

(Pensa à colui, che arde del tuo amore.)

Here’s a translation, in English, preserving as much as possible the original words, while still communicating meaningfully the sense of the letter.

To you alone that I love, ardently, to you I send, my verse, as in Ladra.

But now (Love)

The first day that I saw you, my heart was struck. Without thinking about it, I write to you to be able to vow my eternal loyalty.

And you! And you!

Your love alone sustains my life. I gift you my heart to do with it what you want, and your beautiful face I will never forget.

End.

You alone, my friend, my comforting idol, affectionately, I greet you, and I kiss you, and you trust me forever, yours forever.

Augusto.

[Think of the him, the one, that in your love, burns.]

Thanks to my muse Maria Elena Seidenari for help not merely with the translation but also for sustained creative nourishment.

Found at a vintage shop at the corner of Via Broccaindosso and Strada Maggiore in Bologna, Italy.