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Recordiad sain / Audio recording: Enzo Calzaghe
Oral history recording with Enzo Calzaghe, father of British boxer, Joe Calzaghe. He was born in Sassari, Sardinia, Italy and moved to Bedford when he was two but finally settled in Wales after meeting his wife in Cardiff. Part 3 of 5 (AV 11352 - 11356). Recorded as part of the Italian Memories in Wales project (2008-10), delivered by ACLI-ENAIP and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
00.01 Enzo’s parents recounted the story of how they emigrated- life was hard for them. Italian culture was maintained in their house through food and Enzo loved living in Britain and yet growing up with the Italian mentality. Enzo talks about the inherent link he felt with Italy, he would also recognise that through mafia films he would watch as a youngster. He talks about his national identity; having spent most of his life here he should feel British, yet he still holds an Italian passport and his birthplace means he feels Italian yet he explains he has moments of uncertainty about his identity. Through his love of football he always feels Italian and always supports Italy. 06.00 Enzo went back to Italy for four years in the sixties. He was fluent in Italian and found it easy to integrate. He had various jobs yet didn’t deal well with authority. He had more of an entrepreneurial spirit and wanted to be his own boss. He taught himself soccer, boxing, music, art. He has never boxed himself but won the Coach of the Year award. Enzo feels that this derives from his parents’ work ethic; they worked hard with a specific goal in mind. They travelled and took chances, he did the same.