Collections Online
Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
Advanced Search
Recordiad sain / Audio recording: Massimo Alzetta
Oral history recording with Massimo Alzetta who was born in Montereale Valcellina di Grisso and moved to Wales in 1954. Part 3 of 7 (AV 11335 - AV 11341). Recorded as part of the Italian Memories in Wales project (2008-10), delivered by ACLI-ENAIP and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
0:20 After 15 years working in the mine Massimo decided to move jobs, and went to work in the terrazzo industry, a typical job for people from Friuli. He found a job through a Friulano friend, Giovanni Maddalena. Giovanni, who came from Fanna, a town near Montereale Valcellina, owned a big terrazzomosaic company in Wales. Every Sunday Massimo used to go by bus to visit Giovanni’s parents, and he always enjoyed seeing them and listening to their stories about the First World War. 5:03 Massimo talks about all the skills of the people from his part of Friuli, especially in the wood industry. He talks about the exhibition in Pordenone where you can see examples of this. He remembers the time when he was working as a carpenter. He talks about a friend who went to prison, and while he was there he learned carpentry. He was an artist in wood. These skills are rare nowadays. 8:59 He would have liked to continue working as a carpenter, as he liked the job, but it was difficult because they paid him nothing, not even national insurance. In his town there were a number of wood factories but they could not pay him. Massimo was brought up in a 650-year-old house, and it was hardly damaged in the earthquake in 1976. He likes the houses in his village in Italy, especially now that they have been restored to their original condition. 12:50 He remembers that when he was a child they used to play silly games. There were thirty children in four houses. They were always bickering and fighting with each other.