The wedding gift

Provincia di Genova....the sunrise embraces the beautiful Liguria, and colours with a warm light shine on the house atop the hill. Vittorio wakes up early in the morning, admires the yellowish sunrise and imagines a life full of joy, a beautiful wife, and a family sobbing. The late 19th Century brought about major changes in Italy and the most important one was land ownership. Thus, in several regions, including Liguria, a large number of rural people became small landowners, yet high taxation soon became overwhelming for many. Consequently, they were often forced to sell it. Vittorio was a tax collector and life seemed to have been tough for him. Or, at least that`s what his house, bought many years later after his death, says about him quietly.

Photo courtesy of Laura Aceti

My husband and I live in a country house built in the early `30s. When we bought it, inside the house there still were some old pieces of furniture and everyday objects, plus some documents and pictures, all left from a long-gone period. The former owner was a stranger to us, but his story seemed to offer an interesting gate to the past. It took much work, money, energy, and time to refurbish the house and we chose to preserve as much as we could. 

Our attention was drawn by the table, which can be seen in these photos, and we soon decided that it had to remain in the house. It carried a story with it. The former owner of the house was named Vittorio and he bought the house so he could move in with his new wife, Maria. 

He had this dining table built for the occasion, as a wedding gift to his bride. 

Photo courtesy of Laura Aceti

This might be a story resembling so many others, but the amazing fact is that the wedding took place in 1949, when Maria was 52 years old and Vittorio was already 69, and despite their age, they were married for 27 years!

Photo courtesy of Laura Aceti

As we could find out from the locals, Vittorio was a tax collector in charge with collecting taxes from the farmers in the province.  Here is an excerpt of a notebook that tax collectors used to register the fees and taxes (cca. 1900s):

Photo courtesy of Laura Aceti

Laura Aceti, Italy