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Oral history recording with Adriano Candelori. Recorded as part of the Italian Memories in Wales project (2008-10), delivered by ACLI-ENAIP and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Part 2 of 3 (AV 11364 - 11366).

00.00.20 In the evenings as a family and perhaps some neighbours they would play tombola with books, grains were used to mark the numbers if they didn’t have a pen or pencil- which could be hard to come by. His family invited people for meals or they would go to others. For young people there was a Circolo Ricreativo a club where they would play snooker or drink coffee. In the evening the family had a favourite café where they would sit for a coffee or small aperitivo. There were wine houses with local wines which he describes; they would mostly be local wines- Orvieto wine from the area. Bars and cafes were plentiful before the war and they were the first thing to be reopened after the war.

00.05.57 He remembers political demonstrations in his town and talks a little about the politics. The town was large, there are mountains surrounding it, he describes the area fondly; they walked a lot and went often on picnics and play music together. The community had a dialect but not as strong as some other areas, he gives an example. Grandparents would live with their families and the community was very close.

00.13.00 Adriano was around six when the war started. He remembers the first bomb in Terni. His father and uncles had built their own shelter underground. He recalls the destruction cause by the bomb; many buildings had been hit and many people killed. Straight after the first bombing they evacuated to the mountains; his parents found a woman and her husband with two sons, who had one room and a kitchen that they rented to the family. One sister had to sell all of her possessions in exchange for bread and milk. Adriano’s mother did washing for American soldiers in exchange for white bread (they had never eaten before), beans and chocolate.

00.19.00 Before finding that place they stayed in a friend’s farm, half way up the mountain, sleeping under the haystacks. There were a lot of people trying to evacuate and he describes the countryside as alive with people. The village they evacuated to was called San Liberatore, where they hold a large festival for the Saint which he describes. He recalls the war again; when the Germans were retreating from Terni there were rumours that they were taking women with them. The men of the village built a tunnel in the woods and for about two or three days around fifteen to twenty people stayed in that wood/ slept in the tunnel whilst the village was ransacked. He recalls various stories about confrontations and atrocities involving German soldiers in the area. Civilians often bore the brunt of German retaliation to partisan activity, and recalls some girls had their heads shaved by the soldiers and were taken away to camps.

00.28.46 After the war the American troops pushed out the German soldiers. He remembers many things about the war but lacks details. He recalls American soldiers frying eggs on their Lorries. Adriano recalls the fascists in the area and recalls the reaction when Mussolini was overthrown.

00.33.40 Adriano has more vivid memories of moving to Wales. His brother in law came over to Wales to work for the Steel Company of Wales in 1950. He brought Adriano’s sister and their two children. Adriano followed and was offered a job with the Steel Company of Wales, under a four year contract. He came over with almost nothing. Adriano recalls the journey in detail; the longest he had ever made. He settled in well as his sister was already here; ‘from one family to another’. They spoke Italian and she made Italian food, and he made friends through them who he learnt English through word by word, phrase by phrase.

00.41.18 He worked for the Steel Company of Wales in Llanelli and describes the heavy work; holding sheets of metal which he passed to the doubler, who gave them to the furnace man and back again. This work has influenced him now in his sculptures, through which he represents traditional skilled work. He talks of the work and the teaching work he carries out now.

00.48.31 He found success with his sculpture work; one was chosen to be taken to Kensington Palace by the Arts Council for the wedding of Prince and Princess of Wales. He also won a competition to make a trophy for the Eisteddfod and describes his feeling of pride for those achievements. He describes the gallery he built in his basement; he used to exhibit every year. He considers whether he would have been able to follow this ambition had he stayed in Italy, his wife was incredibly supportive. He describes how his career developed with a recommendation to college from Lesley Jones. He tries to depict many different cultures in his work; not simply Welsh or Italian yet has some figures in traditional Welsh dress.