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About Italian-Traditions.Com
(little!) About Me
Growing up as the last and only son of three children, I can tell you that life has never been boring with my two older sisters... I remember our petty arguments when kids, and sometimes they still come to the surface again when we meet! :) I also fondly remember the big house from my grandfather (my mother's family) in Quinto Vicentino (North East Italy) where tens of people swarmed, between parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents... The special occasions really were a celebration, and firm connection with our past was reestablished and strengthened each time, by listening to the stories of our elders, ranging from how "at their times" people used to live their lives in the countryside, to how the possession of a bicycle was seen as a great asset, to accounts of WW II episodes, that that part of Italy came to know all too well. Also when moving to a few places near Rome, that bond (although not "daily" anymore) has not disappeared: perhaps I enjoy now even more our family gatherings and all the journeys that give me the opportunity to discover new things.
My wife also tells me of her, similar experiences, when she was a kid in Caposele (South Italy): of her big family, warm gatherings and peculiar characters. Now that I am building my own family, I will make sure all this is not lost, but that it can keep being renewed. That's where the idea of a web site came along... Italian-Traditions.Com TodayPassion, like all those things that each of us brings along him- or herself, is difficult to explain, but sure thing you feel the passion when you see it. I was 26 years old (not too young anymore) when I moved out of my hometown (Grottaferrata, in the outskirts of Rome) and out of my home country (guess which one :) ) to follow my restlessness both for experiences and for my career aspirations. German-speaking Switzerland was my destination, and it is from there that I am writing this. I guess that especially when you are surrounded by the not-known, by different customs, different culture, behavior and peoples, that is the moment when you start to (re)discover your own traditions and customs. This is the moment when you realize that, very often, what you do and how you do it are not just simple day-by-day repetitions of elementary actions, but that they can descend from nobler origins. At least, that is what I realized. I'm not saying that my passion toward italian traditions was non existent before, after all I remember far too well the journeys that my parents (and especially my mother) planned even months in advance, to bring us kids (my two sisters and me) in travels of discovery throughout Italy. Let's say that I have been well inducted in this! It's now rather the willingness to track, record and share the feelings that I love to experience and that some things especially trigger in me, when I am traveling around Italy and its many faces, savoring the landscape, the peculiar landmarks, their history and the thread of continuity over time, still strongly tangible today. I have met many, many people (both in Italy and abroad) that share the same passion (sometimes I thought I was a special case...) and this has made me decide to finally give some more structure to my thoughts and to my experiences. This not just as a way to recollect and reorder the past, but in the sincere hope that more can keep being experienced in the future and more people, friends can join the trip. All this I would like Italian-Traditions.Com to grow into, with passion and - why not? - some help from other passionate people like you! |
