Beneath the watchful eye of Brindisi’s towering stone memorial to lost first world war mariners, a lone rower skims across the still waters of the city’s harbour. It’s a beautiful day and tourists stroll the palm-lined quayside in the late summer’s afternoon sun. But the rower isn’t the only one on the water. Also in harbour is an Italian warship, the 133m-long ITS San Giorgio. Inside, waiting to launch, is an amphibious assault vehicle, and inside her, like a Russian doll, I find myself crammed shoulder to shoulder with my fellow mates. The vehicle’s rear door is closed and we are plunged into total darkness. The engine starts and for a moment the only thing to permeate the black is the roar of its 525hp engine and escaping diesel fumes.
在布林迪西高耸的一战阵亡将士纪念石碑的注视下，一个孤独的划船者滑过该市港口的平静水面。这是一个美丽的日子，游客们在夏末午后的阳光下漫步在棕榈树林立的码头上。但划船者并不是水面上唯一的人。港口里还有一艘意大利军舰，133米长的圣乔治号(ITS San Giorgio)。里面有一辆等待下水的两栖攻击车，在它里面，我发现自己像一个俄罗斯娃娃一样，和我的同伴们肩并肩地挤在一起。车辆的后门被关闭，我们陷入了一片黑暗之中。发动机启动了，在那一瞬间，只有525马力的发动机的轰鸣声和逸出的柴油烟气弥漫在黑色中。