By Lidia Qattan

Iwas about three years old when we left Belle Donne and moved to Canale in the province of Ceregnano, where my father bought a large corner house in a strategic area of the village.

It was called “the palace” not because of its opulence, but simply because it was the most imposing building in that area, it was two storeys high, with a front courtyard shaded by an old oak tree and a large fenced orchard in which mother could grow some vegetables. There was a wooden stairs leading to the first floor with a door opening on to the courtyard.

One day my father brought home a pony for Luigi to ride. Finding the door open, the young animal climbed the stairs to the first floor. Attracted by the trampling noise upstairs, mother went to investigate. Surprised to see the pony wandering around she started laughing so loudly that we all ran upstairs.

It was a tricky business to get the pony downstairs, with the help of the neighbors the young animal was slowly brought down after covering his head with a towel.

There were two large halls on the ground floor of the building with internal and external entrances, hence ideal for public activities and other uses. A bus stop was right in front of the entrance of one of them and that gave my mother the idea to open shop.

Father had a passion for dealing in wholesale merchandise, as well as for dealing in herds of horses and real estates, but he despised shopkeeping.

Mother discovered she had a passion for selling when father brought home a quantity of women’s shoes he was going to sell on the next day. Considering that shoes were not the sort of things one could find in the local shops, mother asked him if she could sell them. She was so enthusiastic with her idea that he agreed. Within few days she sold every single pair.