User Profile

Silence

Natalia suggests that silence is a sin, and that we are all smothered by silence, incapable of exchanging an unconstrained word.

My Vocation

Describes how her writing style has changed and evolved over time, and how the process intertwines with her emotions

Although this was written in Turin, in 1946, ordinary people in many places, are still having their homes reduced to rubble, or having to flee the place where they have made their home

The Son of Man

The title is a reference to Matthew 8:20 where Jesus says 'The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head'. This is linked to the destruction by war of peoples homes, and how those have experienced this can never feel safe again

He and I

Written in 1962, about the relationship between Natalia and her second husband Gabriele Baldini.

La Maison Volpe

Describes, as she encountered it, the English attitude to food.

England: Eulogy and Lament

Written in London in 1961, some of the descriptions seem outdated, but others resonate. The food and drink has transformed since then, and some social attitudes may have changed.

Portrait of a Friend

Although neither the friend, nor the city which he loved are named, he was probably Cesare Pavese, and the city Turin. The descriptions convey the complex moods of both person and city.

Worn-Out Shoes

She recollects her time alone in Rome during the German occupation when she had no choice but to wear worn-out shoes. Old shoes provide a connection with a friend, as well as where shoes fit in her financial priorities.

Her internal exile with her husband in the town of Pizzoli lasted from 1940 to 1943. On their return to Rome he was arrested and imprisoned and died in February 1944.

Winter in the Abruzzi

Describes her internal exile by the Fascist government of the time, with her husband to Abruzzi. At first she finds the people and their way of life strange, but gets to know them better.

@fu@millefeuilles.cloud I don't think there is anything wrong with having roots in a place, but I, my wife, my siblings and cousins, work colleagues and the majority of people, but not all, left home for education and work, and made their lives in a new place or places. I do have friends who have lived in this area all their lives,, but not the majority. In these terms I am an Anywhere, generally mixing with Anywheres. The problem is that most politicians and decision makers are also Anywheress - so can they really represent of speak for the 60% who can have different priorities?

Originally mistakenly posted as a comment, but I find it interesting, and disconcerting that this applies to a minority of the people I know well.

Despite recent increases in geographical mobility about 60% of British people still live within 20 miles of where they lived when they were fourteen.