NOTA

AUNT TINA

Towards the middle of November, Aunt Tina came to stay with us; she was the wife of my uncle Fiorenzo. He was another of my father’s brothers. My father’s family consisted of nine children, 5 girls and 4 boys. Uncle Fiorenzo was the youngest. He and his wife Tina were teachers in the small town of Picinisco, where they had met. Picinisco is about 30 km from Settefrati. At that time, Picinisco could only be reached using mountain roads. They were a young couple and very respected in the town. Mrs. Socci, as we all called her, was a young and beautiful woman, recently married, and she was pregnant. Now, almost at the end of her pregnancy, she was awaiting the birth of her first child. Her husband, Fiorenzo, had been called back to arms. He did not want to leave his young wife alone, so he brought her to stay with us in Settefrati. He knew that he was leaving her in “good hands.” She was now under the protection of Grandmother Rosa and in the company of my mother, an “expert” in worldly things. Indeed, my mother had given birth only a few years before. She was also helped by my grandmother because my father was also in the military at the time. He had already been taken prisoner and he was in an English concentration camp in Africa.

The three women did well together, and got along very well. They each had their roles. My grandmother directed and oversaw things. My mother did things. My aunt learned things. There was always the danger of the town being occupied and a war that was always too close.

Our house overlooked the square. The square was always full of young soldiers who would entertain themselves by looking lasciviously at all the women, young and even not so young. My wise grandmother decided to move the entire family, at least for a night, to the house on Macinara Street. The house was located at the outskirts of the town, far from the square in the center of town. It was thought to be safer from the possibility of any nightly molestation by the German soldiers.

During the day, the women would be in the town square where they could find all their daily necessities.

On the night of November 22, my mother and grandmother were awakened by my aunt Tina. The time for her to give birth was coming on quickly. Caring as usual, my mother and grandmother helped the young woman to prepare herself for the big event. My mother never left her alone; she would stand by her bedside, pat her forehead dry and hold her up. They heated some water and prepared all the linens and other necessities for the imminent arrival of the newborn.

Finally, it was time to call the midwife.

The midwife lived on Campo Reale street and to get to her house, one had to pass through the town square in the center of town and then down the San Settefrati path towards Campo Reale. By now, it was very dark; my mother started out but my grandmother stopped her, saying that she would go along as well because the town was full of soldiers and it would be rash, even dangerous, for a woman to go out by herself at night. My mother was a beautiful woman, with black hair pulled back behind the nape of her neck in a bun, as was the custom at the time. Her hair formed a halo of folds that gave her a sweet appearance. She had big brown eyes and would wear modern clothes, not local dress, and I think this made her even more beautiful. My mother is 86 years old now and she is still beautiful. A neighbor came to stay with my aunt while the two women set out. They went down Macinara street until the small San Pietro square and were about to enter the town square when they were stopped by two soldiers on patrol. The soldiers stood in front of the women and blocked their path. My grandmother, fast as a lighting bolt, moved my mother and stood in front of her, between my mother and the soldiers, to block her and shield her. A conversation began with my grandmother speaking the local dialect and the soldiers speaking German and, trying to communicate with words and gestures. They couldn’t understand each other, and the more this went on the more the soldiers would become irritated. They would roughly push my grandmother aside to move her from in front of my mother. My grandmother didn’t give up and at the end, not knowing what else to do, she panicked and she took off her apron and threw it over my mother’s head in a futile attempt to hide her from the terrible soldiers. Finally, a fellow townsperson arrived who spoke a bit of German and he was able to explain the women’s mission to the soldiers. The soldiers’ attitude immediately changed once they understood the reason behind why the two women were out at that hour. Who knows, maybe they had suspected that the two women were dangerous saboteurs, perhaps intent on causing who knows what harm to those soldiers, armed to the teeth.

The soldiers accompanied the women to the midwife’s house and then back to the house where my aunt was waiting. They even put the military hospital at our disposal, in case it was needed. It was not needed. After a short while, a beautiful baby girl was born; she was named Livia Rosa. Our small family was growing. Now we were a household of four women: Grandmother Rosa, my mother Triestina, Delia Rosa and Livia Rosa.

Verso la meta’ di novembre venne a stare con noi la zia Tina moglie di zio Fiorenzo un altro fratello di mio padre. La famiglia di mio padre era composta di nove figli. 5 femmine e 4 maschi zio Fiorenzo ero il piu’ giovane. Egli era insegnate con sua moglie Tina nel piccolo paese di Picinisco dove si erano conosciuti. Picinisco dista da Settefrati circa 30 km ed allora raggiungibile solo per sentieri di montagna.

Erano una giovane coppia e molto stimata nel paese. La signora Socci, come tutti la chiamavano era giovane e bella donna sposata da poco ed era in stato interessante. Ora quasi alla fine del termine di gravidanza aspettava la nascita del primo figlio. Suo marito , Fiorenzo era stato richiamato sotto le armi e non volendo lasciare la giovane moglie sola, l’aveva portata a stare con noi a Settefrati .Sapeva che la lasciava in” buone mani “sotto la protezione di nonna Rosa e la

compagnia di mia madre “esperta “in cose del mondo avendo gia’ partorito pochi anni prima ,anche lei assistita dalla nonna poiché mio padre era anche lui militare e gia’ prigioniero di guerra in un campo di concentramento inglese in Africa.

Le tre donne stavano bene insieme, andavano molto d’accordo .La nonna dirigeva , mia madre faceva e la zia imparava. Rimaneva sempre il pericolo del paese occupato dai tedeschi e la guerra sempre più vicina. Poichè la nostra casa dava sulla piazza che era sempre piena di giovani soldati che si divertivano a dare occhiate maliziose alle donne, a tutte le donne giovani e non piu’giovani.

La saggia nonna decise di spostare tutta la famigliola almeno per la notte, alla casa in via Macinara. La casa era situata al margine del paese lontano dal centro e considerata un po’piu sicura e piu al sicuro da ogni possibile molestia notturna da parte dei soldati tedeschi.

Il giorno sarebbero state alla piazza dove c’era tutto l’occorrente per vivere la vita giornaliera.

La notte del 22 novembre la mamma e la nonna furono svegliate da zia Tina , si avvicinava l’ora della nascita. La nonna e la mamma premurose come sempre aiutarono la giovane donna a prepararsi per il grande evento. La mamma non la lasciava mai stava, con lei al capezzale del letto, le asciugava la fronte , la sorreggeva. Scaldarono l’acqua, prepararono tutta la biancheria e il necessario per l’imminente arrivo del neonato. Venne l’ora di avvisare la levatrice

La levatrice abitava in via Campo Reale e per arrivarci si doveva passare in piazza , nel centro del paese poi giu’ per la discesa di San Settefrati verso Campo Reale. Ormai era notte inoltrata la mamma si avvio’, la nonna la fermo’ subito dicendo che sarebbe andata anche lei perchè il paese era pieno di soldati e sarebbe stato imprudente ,anche pericoloso, per una donna sola di uscire di notte. Mia madre era una donna bellissima con capelli neri tirati dietro la nuca, col toppo come si usava a quei tempi intorno al viso. I capelli formavano un aureola di pieghe che le davano un dolce aspetto. aveva grandi occhi castani, indossava vestiti moderni e non il costume locale e questo credo la rendeva anche più bella. Mia madre ora ha 86 anni ed e’ancora bellissima. Venne una vicina di casa a stare con la zia mentre le due donne si avviarono. Scendevano per via Macinara fino a Piazzetta San Pietro e stavano per entrare nella piazza quando furono fermate da due soldati di pattuglia. I soldati si misero di fronte alle donne e sbarrarono il passo. La nonna svelta come un fulmine scanso’ mia madre e si mise di fronte tra lei e i soldati per pararla e farle da scudo. Comincio’ una conversazione tra la nonna e i soldati in tedesco e dialetto con parole e gesti. Piu’ non si capivano piu’ i soldati si irritavano . Spingevano bruscamente la nonna per levarla di fronte a mamma. Ma nonna non mollava alla fine non sapendo piu’ cosa fare e presa dal panico si levo’ lo zinale e lo butto’ sul capo di mamma in un futile tentativo di nasconderla dai soldatacci. Finalmente arrivo’ un paesano che parlava un po’di tedesco e riusci’ a spiegare ai soldati la missione delle due donne. L’atteggiamento dei soldati cambio’subito all’apprendere la ragione per cui le donne si trovavano fuori a quell’ora. Chissa’avevano forse sospettato che le donne fossero due pericolosissime sabotatrici, magari intente a fare chissa’ qual male a loro armati fin ai denti.

I soldati accompagnarono le donne fino alla casa della levatrice e poi dietro fin su la casa dove la zia aspettava. Misero anche a disposizione l’ospedale da campo militare nel caso ci fosse bisogno. Non ce ne fu bisogno , dopo poco nacque una bella bambina e fu chiamata Livia Rosa. La famigliola cresceva .Ora eravamo quattro donne a casa la nonna Rosa, mamma Triestina, Delia Rosa ed ora Livia Rosa

DELIA SOCCI SKIDMORE