### Clue: Start to get involved with Italian volunteers sent back to occupy the centre of Chieti (8)
### Answer: INITIATE 
 ### Explanation: Definition: Start
 IN(involved with, as in "he has been in politics since …") + IT(abbrev. for "Italian") + [ **reversal of**(… sent back) TA(abbrev. for the Territorial Army, consisting of volunteers) **contained in**(to occupy) **the 2 central letters of**(the centre of) "Chieti " ].