How did you manage with your translation of Serena’s post, L’Incontro – Part 1? Let’s find out!

Cominciamo dalle origini:
Let’s begin from the beginning:

Papà

Nonno Karekin con sua mamma e sua moglie, nonna Vartanush. In piedi ci sono mio papà Nicola e la sorella maggiore Maria. Bengasi, 1923 circa. Grandfather Karekin with his mother and his wife Vartanush. My father Nicola and his elder sister Maria are standing. Bengazi, circa 1923.

Papà, cioè Nicola Cricorian, era nato a Bengasi, in Libia, nel 1921 da genitori armeni. Agli inizi del Novecento i suoi genitori, ancora bambini, erano fuggiti dall’Armenia insieme alle loro famiglie per salvarsi dai genocidi armeni perpetrati dall’Impero Ottomano in Turchia fra il 1896 e il 1915, ed erano arrivati a Bengasi, che a quei tempi faceva anch’essa parte dell’Impero Ottomano, ma essendo lontana dalla Turchia era tranquilla.
Father, that is Nicola Cricorian, was born in 1921 to Armenian parents in Benghazi, Libya. At the beginning of the 1900’s his parents, who were babies at the time, had fled from Armenia with their families to save themselves from the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in Turkey between 1896 and 1915. They had arrived in Benghazi, which at the time was also part of the Ottoman Empire but, being far from Turkey, was peaceful.

Nel 1911 la Libia fu conquistata dall’Italia, che la tolse ai turchi, e quelle poche famiglie armene che si trovavano lì vennero riconosciute italiane a tutti gli effetti. Così mio padre e i suoi fratelli andarono alle scuole italiane, parteciparono alle colonie estive per i figli dei coloni italiani in Libia, e infine papà combatté con l’esercito italiano nella campagna d’Africa durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale.
In 1911, Libya was conquered by Italy, who took it from the Turks, and the few Armenian families that were there were effectively recognised as Italians. So my father and his siblings went to Italian schools, participated in the summer camps for children of Italian settlers in Libya, and my father eventually fought with the Italian army in the African campaign during the Second World War.

Alla fine della guerra mio padre e suo fratello decisero di restare in Libia, che nel frattempo era diventata dominio inglese, avendo l’Italia perso la guerra. Quindi dovettero rinunciare alla cittadinanza italiana e presero quella libica. Papà, che durante i tre anni di prigionia nei campi francesi aveva imparato ad aggiustare le macchine da scrivere, aprì un ufficio di macchine da scrivere Olivetti a Bengasi.
At the end of the war my father and his brother decided to stay in Libya which, in the meantime, had become British domain because Italy had lost the war. They therefore had to give up their Italian citizenship and take up Libyan citizenship. Father, who during his three years as a prisoner in the French POW camps had learnt to fix typewriters, opened an Olivetti typewriter office in Benghazi.

Qui ci fermiamo, per il momento, e vediamo la storia della mamma.
We’ll stop here for the moment, and take a look at my mother’s story.

Mamma

Mia mamma Rosanna, a destra, con le sorelle. A sinistra Maria Luigia detta Lola, al centro Vittorina detta Vicky, che sostiene Carmen, detta Cicci. Pesaro, agosto 1933. To the right, my mother Rosanna with her sisters. To the left is Maria Luigia, known as Lola, in the centre is Vittorina, known as Vicky, holding Carmen, known as Cicci. Pesaro, August 1933.

La mamma, cioè Rosanna Marcacci, è nata a Porretta Terme, vicino a Bologna, nel 1929. Agli inizi della Seconda Guerra Mondiale si trovava con le sue tre sorelle in collegio a Pesaro, sulla costa adriatica, perché i loro genitori erano andati coloni in Abissinia (Africa Orientale, oggi Etiopia). Nel settembre 1943, durante l’avanzata degli Alleati, la sua famiglia fu sfollata a Mombaroccio, una cittadina nell’entroterra, dove viveva uno zio, che faceva il prete, e per questo era sempre chiamato lo Zio Prete. Credo che il suo vero nome fosse Olindo!
Mother, that is Rosanna Marcacci, was born at Porretta Terme near Bologna in 1929. At the beginning of the Second World War she was at boarding school in Pesaro, on the Adriatic coast with her three sisters, their parents having gone to Abyssinia (in East Africa, today called Ethiopia) as colonists. During the allied advance in September 1943 her family was evacuated to the inland town of Mombaroccio, where an uncle lived. This uncle was a priest, and for that reasons he was always referred to as ‘Uncle Priest’. I believe his real name was Olindo!

Per Mombaroccio però passava la Linea Gotica e per un lungo periodo furono proprio sul fronte fra i tedeschi in ritirata e gli alleati che avanzavano. La famiglia della mamma viveva nella canonica con lo Zio Prete, ma essendo questa l’edificio più importante di Mombaroccio, fu presto requisito dal comando tedesco per i suoi ufficiali, mentre alla famiglia di mia madre vennero concesse solo un paio di stanze.
The Gothic Line* passed by Monbarrocio however, and for a long time they were right on the front line between the retreating Germans and the advancing Allies. Mother’s family lived in the rectory with Uncle Priest, but as this was the most important building in Mombaroccio it was soon requisitioned by the German high command for its officers, and my mother’s family were given just a couple of rooms.

Nell’agosto 1944 ci fu l’offensiva alleata, e il 28 agosto entrarono i canadesi a Mombaroccio. A settembre la mamma con tutta la famiglia fece finalmente ritorno a Pesaro. Fu qui che la sorella maggiore di mia mamma, Vittorina detta Vicky, incontrò Bill, un soldato inglese, e nel luglio del 1946 si sposarono.
In August 1944 the Allied offensive took place, and on the 28th of October the Canadians entered Mombaroccio. In September, mother, with all her family, finally returned to Pesaro. It was here that my mother’s elder sister, Vittorina, known as Vicky, met Bill, an English soldier, and in July 1946 they were married.

Alla fine della guerra, Bill decise di rimanere nell’esercito, e qualche anno dopo, nel 1957 circa, fu postato a Bengasi, che era ora dominio britannico.
At the end of the war, Bill decided to stay in the army, and a few years later, in about 1957, he was posted to Benghazi, which was now under British rule.

Notes:
la Linea Gotica* (the Gothic Line) was a German defensive line which spanned from just below La Spezia on the west coast to Pesaro (and then Rimini) on the east coast.

Nella prossima puntata vi racconterò l’incontro fra mamma e papà.
In the next episode I’ll tell you how my mother and father met.

Potete leggere la storia di mio padre durante la guerra in questo link:
You can read the story of my father during the war at this link:
My Father’s War

Potete leggere il diario di mia nonna durante la guerra in questo link:
You can read the diary of my grandmother during the war at this link:
My Grandmother’s War Diary