Livio

Livio was born on 16 November 1941 in Bajardo.

He has three brothers and one sister. They worked in the fields,

some of which were far away, taking up to an hour to reach,

life was centred around shepherding and farming, with terraces cultivated with wheat.

We’ve only just started speaking via Skype,

but I can already sense

how much he loves his homeland.

The memories he shares, with such enthusiasm,

leave a deep impression on me.

At Carnival, people danced, but you had to pay to join the festivities.

and you would only recognise others when they returned to the square, unmasked.

Livio was inseparable from a goat – his constant companion.

He also herded his uncles’ animals and was an essential help to his family.

He was so talented at drawing, even at six- seven years old,

that a couple from Milan, upon seeing his work,

offered his mother to raising him as their own in the big city,

perhaps to send him to an art academy – who knows?

Livio meets Domenica and falls in love.

On 11 June 1967, he leaves Bajardo with a suitcase and sets off for Paris.

He was convinced he would return after just 15 days, but his father knows better,

realising from the size of his luggage that he might stay a bit longer.

Indeed, Livio only lives as a tourist for the first 10 days.

After that, he finds a job, a home, and eventually welcomed three daughters.

Every summer, they come back to the village, to his land.

Livio speaks in dialect better than most.

His friends rely on him as a source.

his poems often speak of or are inspired by Bajardo.

In Paris, at the community centre, he undertakes many projects about his hometown.

It was Livio who insisted on creating the sign in the old church,

he wrote it and had it translated by his daughter.

Now tourists can learn a little more about that church,

and about the terrible earthquake of 1887.