Goodbye to Italia

Sorrow or Joy; Fight or Flight …

Along with our eldest daughter and her partner (of a few years), my husband and I visited the city of Torino. One day, as my husband and I were waiting outside the church entrance where my parents had married in 1955, the heavy wooden door opened, and my daughter’s tearful face with a lopsided but joyful smile appeared. My heart dropped and then soared, as she announced, “We’re engaged!” As Mrs Bennett pronounces in ‘Pride and Prejudice’, my statement of, “I thought it would never happen”, was met with rolling eyes but excited laughter. For both my husband and I, this unexpected news—we had been told not to hold our breath—was gleeful and produced many positive emotions. Our visit to my ancestors’ hometown in Northern Italy was an absolute delight. It’s a surprisingly ‘happening’ place and modern city. Yet, during WW2, it had been heavily bombed and suffered greatly. The stately bridge over the River Po was of special interest as, my mum—a pretty child at the time—was out collecting firewood by the bridge in icy weather during the war when turning around, she discovered a German soldier watching her; it would have been terrifying!