Italian volunteers:
FERNANDO GATTO
My life motto is “Live and let live” (not very original, but surely mine). I want to summarize myself in this way: “travel, unexpected and adventure lover. I started travelling more frequently during the last few years, straight after I retired. Maths teacher for more than 30 years, I taught in Torino for 8 years and for 22 in the San Donato di Lecce middle school, where I ended my career. Besides of travelling, I like hosting people from all over the world with whom exchanging opinions, ideas, methods and costumes.”
STEFANIA CICCARELLI
Hi
everybody, I’m Stefania, I’m 54 and I’m from Genoa (Liguria) but I live in the
Salento region (Puglia). I’ve got
a husband from Puglia and two half-blood children of whom I’m very proud, as
all mothers (maybe in Portugal they don’t know the saying “Every beetle is
beautiful for its mother”- let’s say: it’s Italian culture!).
As
with
everybody from Planet Earth I’m a zero: before I thought it was an improper condition, but now I think it’s a
wonderful thing. As with
all the people from Liguria region, and surely the Portuguese people too, I
love the sea, sailing and I’d love to discover the world; I feel comfortable in
ports and the coast is my natural habitat. I’m happy about doing this trip in
Lisbon, above all in this way that help me participate in all the local
activities, know a little bit of the language and meet local people. I want to
fill my eyes and soul with ALL the beauties of this country, my heart with all
the new people that I’ll meet and my stomach with all the good delicious things
that they can prepare! There are a lot of sentences, aphorisms, quotes that I
like, I’d write them everywhere to surround myself and/or to offer them to
other people, but these three are the most recurring ones: To start with, I’d say, “IF YOU CAN DREAM IT, YOU CAN
DO IT” by Walt Disney (a genius, and
a great innovator of his time); secondly,
“WHEN THE GAME GETS TOUGH, TOUGH PEOPLE START PLAYING” by Benito Mussolini (I
liked it before knowing it was his!!!!) and finally, “EVERY MISSED CHANCE IS LOST” of which
I ignored
the author, maybe it’s common
knowledge; I stopped saying the last one because my daughter hates it (but I
think about it anyway, Alessandra!). This
is, moreover, a story about the
tiny particles and beams inside one’s eye that everybody should always keep in mind. I’m sure that even in
Portugal they know it quite well, the Author is a pretty famous person.
My
biggest passion is painting, through
it's various shapes and aspects, through
which I try to create environments and subjects chromatically and harmoniously,
that can embrace the one who lives it in a joyful and beautiful atmosphere. That’s how I want to change the world, in
my own small way. I’m always “hungry” to knowing new things. I’d like to love
more and better, but my limits make me fly low. But I don’t give up.
GIUSEPPE FRANCO –PINUCCIO
My name’s Giuseppe Franco, but everybody
calls me Pinuccio. I’m 63 and I’m retired. But if you think that I wear slippers
and live like an old man…well…, you’re wrong. I take advantage of having more
spare time to travel, read and practise
my favorite sports, which are speleology and canyoning.
 |
| La scoperta della Grotta Micello a Poggiardo |
My motto? I borrowed it
from Dante Alighieri and it says, paraphrased: “You were not made to live like
brute, but to follow virtue and knowledge!”
ANGELA SABATO
The life motto I’m thinking
about is: « “Live and let live”. I try to describe myself: …I’m almost 55 and I
often need to remind it to myself J I’ve lived every nice and bad moment of my life intensely, I’ve got a beautiful family,
wonderful children. I’ve so much to give, I’ve always felt like learning,
meeting new people, sharing life experiences; I like being part of a group and
being organized… It’s useless to say that I like to spend time with young
people because they give me so much life energy and
make me remember the 16 year old girl living inside of me.
I like listening to the others, talking about myself and comparing our
experiences. I like rock and roll but I can’t dance it… And finally I love
Freddy Mercury like a fool.
Portuguese volunteers:
"For me everything started in Lisbon when, during an Italian class at the Senior Academy of Carnide, I met Angela, Fernando, Pinuccio and Stefania… a shared snack where I could try Angela’s delicious pasticciotto!
I immediately got excited with the idea of me participating in a volunteering project in Italy and stayed alert waiting for “my” opportunity. I’m 56 and I am unemployed, I mean, I have a lot of spare time and I really enjoy getting to know... new people, places, projects, cultures…”
"I am a first-time volunteer in this kind of a project, living in Amadora, close to Lisbon, I’m 62 and a retired public servant. I have, besides other activities, covered the role of “ensuring food well-being and more” of the group of volunteers. I consider myself as a very creative person and I am always available to share ideas.”
"I got to know about this project thanks to Isabel. I am 61 years old, I am retired and, as I had never visited the south of Italy, this one was a wonderful opportunity for me. I am a handyman and I am always ready for some volunteer work.”
"I participated in this adventure out of curiosity and out of will to meet new peoples and cultures. Italy is one of my favorite places to visit and traveling through Puglia region - with its amazing beaches on the Adriatic Sea, castles, monuments and buildings full of history - was a pleasure for my eyes and all my other senses. I would like to rittornare to Lecce and I hope it manages to obtain the title of European Capital of Culture 2019.”
