I was born in 1930 from a family of boys and I never met my mother, who died of tuberculosis when she was only 21 years old. They made me as a mother: my paternal grandmother "Nena" as long as she could and then "Annita", the wife of my uncle. I grew up together with four cousins, daughters of Uncle Angiolino Gallorini.
At the age of seven I started working as a helper of the Bottaio Donato Ballerini, who had the shop under the clock tower, next to the source of the "Mencia". As a shop boy I had to think about heating the water used to fold the wooden slats used for the barrels and vats, but I often followed the Ballerini who went to the markets of neighboring countries to sell his products, riding an old bicycle. .........................