What We Found On Lipari Island, Italy.

I met Sam's mum not long after I started dating him. He's the kind of guy that takes you into his warm heart and so is his mum. I hadn't known her long before she started sharing her memories of growing up on Lipari before she emigrated to Australia. She loved the outdoor life on Lipari, playing sport and swimming were her loves. Family was very important to her and she would embark on a long walk from where she lived on the coast up into the hills to visit her grandmother.

Sadly we lost her three years ago and it hit Sam very hard. He had always wanted to see the place that held such a special place in his mother's heart but it wasn't until we married that he decided the right time was right.

The hydrofoil took us from Sicily to Lipari and we were met by our hotel pickup. We'd opted to stay in Cannetto the town Sam's mum is from. We drove along the coast from the port of Lipari passing the beach where Sam's mum would have swum as a girl. Past houses and shops buildings that look as if they've been there for decades.

 Our B&B was a short walk from the street up this pretty laneway.

Having just finished a 13day Trafalgar tour of Italy we were pretty tired so opted for a rest but the next day we had a tour of the Island booked. We woke to a beautiful sunrise. This is the view from our balcony. 

The views of the neighboring islands were breathtaking. Sam and I had no idea how very beautiful Lipari would be. Our tour guide introduced us to some locals who said they would be related in someway having the same last name as Sam.

 We decided to see if the local council would be able to help us find where Sam's mum's house would have been.  

Our taxi dropped us in front of the council building which is attached to a church. With hope but no expectations we went inside.

In Italian, Sam told the clerk what he hoped to discover. He asked Sam for his mother's birthdate and her parent's names. Sam provided the necessary details and the clerk asked us to wait. He went into another room and quickly returned holding a very old, large book. He opened it and began to read the handwritten record of Sam's mum's birth. It was a very emotional moment that took us both back. 

We had expected to be told to fill out a form or that it would take a week to find. But here was this man reading out the time Sam's mum was born and where her parents lived. There was no street number in the record but we were staying just off the street where Sam's mum grew up. We'd been walking up and down that street for a couple of days.

We were so happy, Sam was beaming, and I had to wipe my eyes. We couldn't believe it had been so easy. The clerk created an official council excerpt for Sam and wouldn't take any money. We left with the precious document and kept looking at it over and over again.

We did lots of sightseeing on Lipari, visiting the Fort and Museum and took a hydrofoil to nearby Salina Island but nothing can beat the moment we stood in the council building listening to Sam's mum's birth record. The connection between the place we visited and the dear lady we loved became concrete. This was the land that shaped who she grew up to be. Sam had discovered something new about his mum and brought her close to him again.

It was a joy to share this special event with him.