Prisoner of war camp No. 107 was built in Torviscosa at the request of a large Italian company, SNIA Viscosa, with the aim of using the prisoners in its agricultural activities. It became operational in 1942 and about a thousand New Zealand and South African prisoners enlisted in the British armies were interned there until the armistice in 1943. The war camp was decommissioned after the armistice but was immediately converted into a village to house SNIA workers. After the Second World War, it took the name Villaggio Roma.

Over the years, some descendants of the former New Zealand prisoners have come to visit the site where the war camp once stood, bringing their loved-ones’ memories and testimonies with them. This motivated us to start the search for documents that could help tell the story of this war camp. Initially, the easiest way was the web: the archives of Anglo-Saxon countries, as well as their libraries, offer efficient catalogues and search systems. Other information was obtained from a number of printed publications, some of them even local. Finally, a trip to New Zealand allowed us to extend the research with a visit to some important institutions.