Page 36 - A Life - my Live - my path

The journey - coal miner’s community

who had only this as their main home were less well
regarded.
"I terroni", a laudatory term in past centuries
(landowners), became highly pejorative after the
industrialisation of northern Italy. What remained was the
image of people from the land who 'herded sheep'.
For our family, it was slightly different, because my
paternal grandfather had worked in the United States and
my paternal uncle had travelled a bit during his military
service in Libya. They had, almost naturally, a different
way of behaving.

In March-April 1945, a cousin , on my maternal
28
grandmother’s side, came to see her to make her aware of
29
the fact that my mother had just turned 16. She told her in
no uncertain terms that the time had come to think about
her future, i.e. her marriage. She told her about my father,
who was 17, and said that he was in very good health, that he
was a kind and above all brave boy. My grandmother
listened to her but didn't decide anything at the time.
After a few weeks, my paternal uncle’s wife came to
30
explain the same thing and that it could make a beautiful
(good) marriage. My grandmother simply replied that she
was going to talk to her son about it, because it was he who
31
made the important decisions. She also spoke to her

28 Naninna
29 Nonna Rosina
30 Zia Virgilia
31 The eldest son had already left home and was living in Vasto.
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