I have visited many kitchens in Abruzzo… more than lunches I remember the small things, I have sipped a perfect espresso from a seasoned pot, been served delicious warm fried treats, savoured a homemade sausage panini, and watched pasta being quickly cut. There is one kitchen in Prezza that stands out, not only for the delicious food prepared by Teresa, a great cook but also for the striking artwork that adorns her fireplace by the Sardinian artist Telesforo Manca. The story behind it shows a greater humanity than we see today: a brave, compassionate community coming together to keep a stranger’s son alive, and the power of making and keeping friends from different places and backgrounds that allow us to learn so much!

Captured and retold by Agata Di Meo, Antonio’s granddaughter

Teresa, one of Prezza’s Masterchefs!

During the Second World War, my grandfather, Antonio Di Meo, was in the Air Force and stationed in Africa, far from Prezza (AQ). There he met another boy, Telesforo Manca, and they became good friends.

On 8 September 1943, after Italy had signed the armistice with the Allies, these two Italian soldiers found themselves in an uncomfortable situation on a continent far away from home. How could they return to their families without any money?

With the help of the English, they managed to get back to Italy and were dropped in a liberated area just south of Rome. Both the boys’ hometowns were still under Nazi occupation and if Telescoro had gone to Sardinia and been caught, he would have been arrested and sent to the camps.

My grandfather suggested that they go to his home town, which was still occupied by the Nazis but whose community was loyal to the partisans of the Majella Brigade.

Upon arrival, my great-grandmother Margherita Di Ramito took it upon herself to keep Telesforo alive. She had lost her son Donato, who was rounded up by the Nazis and sent to a camp in Germany, where he died at the age of 20.  She engineered a story about Telesforo being her long-lost illegitimate child, who had been born before she was married, aided and abetted by the comune’s employees and her neighbours.  Telesforo managed to stay in the village as her son, allowing Margherita the comfort of having this boy in her house and the possibility to believe she had helped everyone’s ‘son’.  After Italy’s liberation, he returned to his family and home in Sardinia.

 From 1940 until these two died they remained best friends and brothers.  Telesforo continued to call Margherita ‘Mamma’ and dedicated many works of art to her including the painting above the fireplace of his happiness in dark times.  Today we may have lost these 3 members of our family, but their story continues and we remain close to and still love our Telesforo family.  The fireplace that brings us light and warmth in winter reminds us of the importance of friendship and brotherhood and what can be achieved with empathy and love.

More About Telesforo Manca’s Art

See Teresa’s Recipe for Martini Pizza Dolce

Author: Sam Dunham

Sam is a very lucky midlife 'mamma' to A who is 13 and juggles working as a freelance SEO copywriter & teaches IGCSEs at Istituo Cristo Re in Rome. She is the founder of the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, co-founder of Let's Blog Abruzzo and 'English in the Woods' initiative.