I was born in San Lorenzo in Banale and have lived here every season of my life. I married Luigi in this village and raised our family here.
My daughter Linda is a painter. After twenty years of studying and working in the art world in Bologna, she too chose to return home, to the mountains where it all began.
As a child, I lived along the banks of the Bondai stream. Every morning, I walked to school accompanied by the sound of flowing water and the scent of meadows. I have always loved reading and writing.
For forty-two years, I was a teacher at the nursery school in San Lorenzo: a life spent among the smiles of children and the joy of teaching. When I retired, I found time for myself and my family, but without realising it, I distanced myself a little from village life.
Then came the opportunity to become a Greeter and with it the curiosity to get back in the game. I felt it was time to come out of my shell, to reopen that door I had unknowingly closed. Accompanying visitors on their discovery of San Lorenzo in Banale, telling them about its history and traditions, has given me deep emotions. It helped me regain confidence, overcome shyness and bring back precious memories: people, places, paths and voices that I carry in my heart. Becoming a Greeter was the spark that brought those memories back to life, reviving them like pages of a book that had never really closed.
Today, I continue to cultivate my passions: reading, gardening, singing in the parish choir and walking in my mountains.
The other Greeters say that visitors find kindness, sensitivity and competence in me. I recognise myself in these words, because that is how I love to welcome those who arrive: with simplicity, listening and a lot of love for my country.