La figlia di Martina

I didn’t grow up in a small town, but in the summertime, I would spend 3 months in the town my mother called home. A town in the middle of the countryside that 25 years ago was made up of barely 10,000 people, and today maybe boasts 13,000 residents.

When Chiara and I were kids, we would go grocery shopping with Mom every day, because that’s what you do in Italy. People will buy weekly groceries that are usually things that have a longer shelf-life, and then they'll buy daily groceries like fresh produce and bread. You live life day-by-day, and a day is measured in fresh bread.

We would barely make it one fourth of the way to the grocery store when someone would stop Mom and say, “Oh Martina, ciao!” and we would stop and chat to whoever it was that hadn’t seen mom in ages. This would happen another 5 or 6 times on the way to the grocery store. You would think the store was miles away from our house, but I’m pretty sure it’s not even half a mile away.

Chiara used to say, “Mom, you’re famous!” and when we would go back home, she would tell Dad, “Dad, did you know that Mom is famous?”. The fact that everyone in town seemed to know who she was rendered Mom famous in our eyes. Chiara and I used to sometimes even complain to Mom about how a 15-minute grocery store trip could take hours.

"Mom, you're famous!" 

As I got older and gained some more independence, I was sent to do the daily grocery shopping. I used to think, “I’m going to be so much faster than Mom because no one will stop me!” Yet, people stopped me. They would stop me and say, “Oh, ma, tu sei la figlia di Martina!” (Oh, but you’re Martina’s daughter!). I thought, hey, maybe I was famous too! I didn’t know these people, but they sure seemed to recognize and know me.

I used to wonder why on earth everyone knew Martina, or why the people of Lariano used the name Martina as if Mom was the only Martina in the whole town. She was the Martina. It pretty much checked-out though because up until a few years ago Mom was the only Martina I had ever met.

Now that I’m older and have learned more about my family’s story, I’ve realized why Mom was so ‘famous’. Our grandparents were so kind to everyone in town. They lived in the town center and everyone knew them or of them. They were hard workers and they did what they could to help others whether that meant putting together an extra meal for someone or providing someone with room and board for a night.

Mom gained her fame for additional reasons. She was one of the first town residents to pursue and finish a degree, and out of that handful of people, she was one of the only ones to obtain a PhD. So, yeah, it makes sense she was famous. Everyone knew she was pursuing things that a typical, rural town resident wouldn't.

She, like her family, was very kind to everyone. She even married a kind person. Dad would tell me every day before school, “Have a great day, be nice to everyone!” It wasn’t something he would just say, he definitely lived by it too. So, naturally, in Lariano, he gained a reputation and everyone also knows who Dad is. Though he’s not as famous as Mom.

Today, I stopped to buy bread in the town's most famous family-owned bakery. There were 6 people in line in front of me, and as soon as I walked in, the entire bread-making family stopped what they were doing and said, "Oh it's Francesca, la figlia di Martina!". They asked me questions about how I'm doing, how school is going, and when Mom, Dad, and Chiara are coming to visit. Then they remembered that they had customers, and rushed back to serve everyone. I paid for my bread, said goodbye and went on my way. It was the most 'small-town' moment ever.

Now that I live between Rome and Lariano, every time I spend a weekend in the little town my heart calls home, I get stopped because I am la figlia di Martina. And that is a title and reputation that I am proud to bear.