Incredibly, it was thirty years ago this month that I first went to Italy and, in particular, Fossa. Little did I know then just how much that ‘returning’ for the first time to our family house in Abruzzo would come to change my life, and also my work.
This photo isn’t the best quality, taken back in the days of film cameras, but I cherish it. Nanna Francesca looks so happy. I’m a bit scruffy from backpacking around Europe for months but have ‘covered my legs’ after Nanna Francesca, scandalised that I’d arrived in the village wearing shorts, cried, ‘Madonna mia! Cover your legs. No one dresses like that here.’
As for Nonno Anni, seeing his face just catches my heart. Despite his appearing impassive, I can still see the emotion in his eyes that day and hear his words, ‘I’m so happy you’re finally here. The last of my grandchildren to come here. Now I can finally relax.’
How important it was for him that his descendants, while born on the other side of the world, would also know the indigenous land where they were from, where our ancestors could be traced back more than six centuries in that mountain valley in Abruzzo, and so have the blessing of both worlds.
I might’ve dragged my feet for lots of reasons the first time I returned, but by the next trip my heart was open, and I’ll be forever thankful for the love of these two people and for their keeping this connection. Who’d have thought when this photo was taken that this day would end up being in, Mezza Italiana many years later. I’m very grateful to all of you who’ve also ended up sharing this story with me over the years, thank you. ❤️🌠
I found this lovely photo of Nanna Francesca’s Sydney cousins and friends tucked in with a letter sent to her in Brisbane in the 1950s. The way news was shared of a new baby and baptism celebration back when it wasn’t common to hop on plane (and who could afford to take time off from work anyway).
An incredible thing happened recently… I’m working on the next book, in particular, a part of it that’s an update on the internment camp Nonno Anni was in, when out-of-the-blue, I’m contacted by someone whose father was in the same camp. (The secret camp authorities said never existed, though any of us who had family in there know that’s not true.)
I’ve been ‘hunkered down’ working on the next book but so you still know I’m here, 😊 I thought I’d delve into the old photo box to see what might be nice to share and this one caught my eye. Mainly because of the wattage in Nanna Francesca’s smile. She looks so happy!
“Ricordo del 26 July 1950 sulla spiaggia di Palmi – Memory of 26 July 1950 on the beach of Palmi…”
Tonight is Epiphany Eve and in Italy many children will be waiting to see what they receive from La Befana, ‘the witch’ – sweets if they’ve been good, coal if they’ve been naughty. As I wrote in, Mezza Italiana, I was chosen as La Befana for my school play, being ‘an Italian kid’, and as you can see from the first photo, I wasn’t too thrilled about it! 😄 Although, I’d warmed up to the idea by the second photo when I got to climb through a window. (As you can also see, being summer, I’m already a bit burnt from swimming at the local pool!)
Still, it’s lovely to look back, especially to see Nanna Francesca and Nonno Anni next to me on the front steps the day I arrived as well as beautiful Fossa when there was no hint of the earthquake to come more than a decade later. And I still can’t get over the rich blueness of the sky some days up there in the Apennine Mountains! No filters or tricks on these photos, just nature at its most exquisite. Thank you for taking the Mezza Italiana journey with me and for sharing your stories too. Grazie infinite cari amici! Zoe xx
Thinking of all those volunteering and working over this time when many get to take a break. It still amazes me how my grandparents opened their milk bar and fruit shop 7 days a week from early morning ‘til late at night with only two days a year off – for 20 years straight! And then ‘scaled back’ to 5 days a week for the following years.
Came across this photograph of my family’s Applethorpe farm in the 1950s with the orchard in flower and realised when I was there doing research for Mezza and Joe’s, I happened to take a picture from almost the same spot 60 years later.
Today it is 70 years since my Italian grandparents, Nonno Anni and Nanna Francesca signed the lease on premises to start up their fruit shop and milk bar in Australia.
Anyone with Sicilian connections or who have been to Sicily may recognise this doll in folk costume (right) and the decorated cart, carrello or carrozza…
It’s coffee harvest time again… these we picked from our backyard tree. Then, by hand, R extracted the beans from inside the coffee cherries and the beans are now spread out on wide sieves drying.
