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TRAVEL - ITALY
MEGAN GOVERNI
ACQUAPENDENTE ... LA DOLCE VITA
A mosaic of narrow buildings , a spidery web of laneways and alleys , all so easy to become wonderfully lost amongst the backstreets of any Italian town .
Our journey had begun when we left Rome and headed roughly north , following the line of the A1 Autostrada yet not on the main road . We ’ d passed many small towns and villages , each unique , all remarkably similar , it was a wonderful introduction to regional Italy .
Acquapendente had been the first stop , something important , a kind of home coming that I had no real idea I needed to see . This is where my father had been born in the 1950s , a time of turmoil for Italy as it , like so many other European nations , was recovering from six years of World War II . My father had spoken of Acquapendente , yet his family had migrated to Australia when he was just a child , his recollections would be vague at best .
Luck would have it that our accommodation , the Il Teatro Alloggio Turistico , a converted theatre that was now a Bed and Breakfast , was situated right on the Piazza della Costituente . A small , gardened area that provided a space for children to play and the older people to rest from the blazing sun . For us it was our first taste of true Italian life .
Pizzeria Galli provided a tasty sample of traditional Italian pizza , forget that fully loaded rubbish we get at home , you won ’ t find a mountain of ham or pineapple here , and it was all washed down with the local bira . Pizzeria Galli was also the prime place to start our search for my heritage .
My partner , seeking more beer , ventured in and with the aid of a smart phone translator was able to converse with the pizzerias owner , a friendly man who was genuinely excited to know another Governi
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