A Self-Portrait of an Italian (Volumes 1 and 2)

Author: Nevio Translated by: Li Yucheng, Xia Fanglin, Wu Shuying Italy/Italy
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-07-01
Features: Sometimes, after lunch, the Countess would go for a walk with the parish priest of Terlizzi in the direction of Porto Greco. When she was surprised to see them teaching me to walk there, she would glare at them with reproachful eyes, and if I didn’t quickly get out of the way, she would grab my neck and shake me vigorously. Therefore, whenever I saw her coming, I would tremble with fear, calling out and rushing into Martino’s arms. At that moment, the Countess could only mutter in anger, “These two old lunatics, still playing with the child.” Because of this, everyone in the kitchen knew that they were my good teachers and friends.
Anyway, thanks to the efforts of these two old lunatics, my legs became strong. When I noticed my aunt’s white hat appearing under the porch, I could even run to the (silk cotton tree) near the small church. I should have called her Aunt, but when I first learned to speak, following her instructions, I could only call her the Countess, and the habit stuck. It seemed to have become some kind of tacit understanding, and we never mentioned our family relationship.
Now, this poor woman has been gone for half a century. When I grew a little older, the Countess didn’t like to see me playing on the bridge often, so she handed me over to Fulciancio, the sacristan, for discipline. As for who he was, I’ve already told you about him earlier. The Countess’s intention in doing this may have been to separate me from Pizzana and let me play with Fulciancio’s children. However, even children have an instinctive rebellious nature. The more you force them to do something, the less they want to do it. Instead, I preferred to play with that willful noble girl. Later, when we were playing together, we felt there were too few people, so we attracted all the children around us. Gradually, more and more children joined us in playing.
The Countess feared that we might do something improper, so she ordered the maids to take Pizzana away whenever they saw her playing with me. Pizzana was not afraid of this at all. Additionally, Faustina and Rosa also wanted their children to play with us. The children were driven away, but soon they gathered again. As the number of children increased, Pizzana’s small ambition to rule our little group also grew. She was a very clever girl, and she wanted to play the role of the mistress. Therefore, we began to play games like being little lovers, jealousy, marriage, divorce, and reconciliation—games that children imagine. In these games, she fully displayed her personality. Although these were innocent games among children, what surprised me was that she, as the Countess’s daughter, would roll around in the straw with this boy or that boy, pretend to marry them, sleep with the groom, and drive away the other children watching. Who taught her these things? I couldn’t understand it at all. I think she may have been born knowing these things.
What frightened me even more was that she was like the changing moon, changing her lover or husband every two days. The children of the farmers, though shy, also joined in this game out of respect and fear for her. I had already noticed this when she ignored me and played alone with the son of the estate manager