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Oral history recording with Angela Di Maio. 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 1 of 2 (AV 11399-11400)

00:00:17 Angela states her full married and maiden names. She states she was born in Montosero, Piacenza, North Italy. She goes on to describe Montosero as a very small village at the foot of a mountain, home to only a few, large, families. She briefly describes the small parish church and school, which children from surrounding villages would also attend. Her parents’ birthplace was Calenzano where they often went to church. She describes Betola, another village close by where people would go to shop, for the market, or to see a doctor. She describes the long journey on foot, by horse or ox and cart.

00:04:30 Angela describes the pride in the school in Montosero. She stayed with her aunt in Montosero to go to school, whilst her parents left to work on a farm in Spettine. She describes the school system, classes and payment. She tells of how she was younger than other pupils in the class and how the teacher would treat her. She describes in detail her home at Spettine which she would visit during the holidays- an old castle where they used to torture and execute prisoners. She tells a story about being punished for quarrelling with her sister, and being locked in the torture room for prisoners.

00:15:28 The family moved to another farm in a nearby town Spongiola and Angela moved to Wales in 1948. She talks about the war and the restrictions it caused. Her brothers were sent to military service and then to fight. When they left the farm was very big for the family and so Angela and her sister, as well as some employees, had to work the land. Angela mentions the Mezzadri and interviewer asks her to explain the system in more detail. Angela explains how their first small farm was their own, but after, when they owned larger farms, they had a boss who owned the farm, the Mezzadro’s responsibility being to work the land, splitting the profits. She describes the farm and relations with her boss who would also work the farm at times. She describes the work she did. The telephone rings and recording is stopped.