2020-03-01 Reader\'s Digest AUNZ

Biancamano, anItalianoceanliner,

departedtheBrazilianportofSantos.

Mygrandmotherwastheyoungest

passengerinfirstclass,whichinclud-

edcounts,membersoftheBrazilian

aristocracyandthearchbishopofRio

deJaneiro.

AftertheshipdockedinGenoa,

Marilenaandhergrandparentstook

a traintoPuglia,theheeloftheboot.

Thewarhadbeenoverforsixyears,

butdestructionlingered.Therub-

ble,though,couldnotdampenthe

bleachedbeautyofPolignanoa Mare,

her grandfather’shometown.The

villageis perched

onlimestonecliffs

ontheedgeofthe

sea.Asareturning

ricetycoon,Antonio

wouldstaywithhis

familyintheHotel

Sportelli.

The hotel was

threestoreys, with

aterracefacingthe

sea. Underneath,

scoopedintoa cliff,wasa vastcave

thatheldtheGrottaPalazzeseluxury

restaurant.Visitorsfromaroundthe

worldcametodine.

Marilena, whospenther days

people-watchingfromthehotelter-

race,wasneverallowedintothe

cave.Aftercatchingsomebusiness-

menoglingherfromtherestaurant,

hergrandmother,Svelte,started

shooinghertothekitchenassoonas

the lunch rush began. Svelte, with a

Shepicturedhis youthfulface

andwonderedwhathelookedlike

now.Aldo’svoicetrembledashe

recalledthelasttimehesawherin

southernItaly.Hehadspentyears

trackingherdown.

Fortenminutestheycaughteach

otherup onhow theirliveshad

unfolded–bothmarriedforhalf

acentury,mygrandmotherwid-

owed,Aldo’swifeinthelaststagesof

Alzheimer’s,kids,grandkids,careers.

“Youjustdon’tthinkthistypeof

thingwilleverhappento you,” my

grandmothertoldme.

I

n1951,whenmy

grandmother,

Marilena, was

14, she set off

onayear-longtrip

to Italy with her

grandparents.Her

grandfather,Anto-

nioLerario,wasthe

sonofanilliterate

fishermanwho,in

1885 attheageof14,hadleftItaly

forBrazilasa stowaway.Hejoined

thousandsofItalianimmigrantsin

SãoPaulo,wherehesoldbagsofrice

onthestreet.Heeventuallysaved

enoughmoneytoopenhisownware-

houseandwentontocreatea multi-

million-dollarcerealempire.

AfterWorldWarII,hedecidedto

returntoItalyandinvitedMarilena,

hiseldestgranddaughter,tocome

along.InApril1951, theSS Conte

READER’S DIGEST

Aldo watchedas

Marilena'strain

pulled away.

Itwasoneof the

saddestmoments

of his life

72 March 2020