Archangelo islet
Battery PL 749
PL 749
Location
Archangelo islet, altitude 50 m
Administration
- Artillery Lieutenant Borelli I. (Commander)
- Artillery Second Lieutenant Polvericciani V. (Vice Commander)
Weaponry
It was equipped with 4 guns of 76mm/40
It was a dual-purpose artillery (Anti-aircraft and Anti-surface)
Dear friend Franco, I remember you three years ago examining a map of F.Piancenza. A map from 1688, where it labels me as Scogli and on this spot of the "rocks" it mentions the word Caloiero in a corner... You seem to be a very curious person! You have visited me at least three times and have walked me from end to end! Well, tell everyone my story, tell them what else you saw on me, tell them what you have heard and what you have read about me... But do it soon, please! Don't drag it out, because you will tire them and they will leave the text unfinished... - You truly are a beautiful island on the northern side of Leros and you are only 470 meters away from our island. You are the large rock of 2.5 kilometers that covers the Bay of Partheniou with its backs facing the North! You are the rocky islet that for years has been monitoring and informing about the danger that comes from the North, West, and East! You are the rocky islet with so much history that has withstood time and today I will testify everything I know about you. You could have been a lush green island too, but you see, for so many years, the many animals that live off your once fertile land have been devouring your beauty. They have called you a Natura area (area of natural beauty), but who cares about these foreign words... no one until today, from what I see. Indeed, the map of 1688 shows that on your peak you have a Byzantine tower, a tower that was confirmed by Giuseppe Gerola in 1916. I have also seen the remains of this tower. I have seen and photographed its white marbles... I have seen its foundations, the water tank, and so many other things that testify to its presence. I must say that people from ancient times must have inhabited you because you functioned as an observatory... Your last inhabitants were Italian sailors. They gave you a code name and called you artillery P.L.749. They loaded you with anti-aircraft and anti-ship artillery. At night, you were decorated with lights as the Italians had installed generators and spotlights on you, to deal with aerial attacks and their daily needs. In your three stone casemates, you hosted dozens of Italian sailors, with Lieutenant Borelli as their commander. I know that for 52 days, German planes bombed you day and night! This is evident from the dozens of wounds on your sides! You have hidden water sources, both natural and artificial caves. Above you, there is everything needed for families to live, just like in the past when you had permanent residents. You have so much to show that each one of us would like to visit you and walk around! However, they need to build a slightly larger pier for small boats to approach you, and to create small dirt paths that will lead visitors to the artillery, the remains of the Byzantine tower, the church of St. George, as well as the ten old cannons that the Italians brought from Libya in the 1920s and embedded in your belly as ship destroyers... I know many more things... But I will stop here as not everything will be read. Goodbye, my Archangel..! We will talk again another day.. -OK!! Next time you write about me, don't forget to mention the ship's anchor!!
Photos by Frantsesko DiPierro