Pettorano sul Gizio, birthplace of my beloved grandmother, swooped into focus. Rectangular little buildings. Creamy beige. Mocha brown. Adobe red. Butter yellow. Cascading from the precipice of a rocky hill, the village fanned out at the hill’s bottom and gave way to verdant pastures bordered by the Gizio River on one side and the highway on the other. I was in love before I stepped out of the car and into the quiet little piazza. There were no rumbling cars. No roaring motorcycles. No blaring music. No shouting people. The rustling leaves and warbling birds were the welcome committee.
I cannot wait to return.
Christine Cutler holds an MFA in creative writing from Murray State University (Kentucky). Chris is founder and director of The Las Vegas Memoir Project, teaches memoir through the Project, is on the editorial board of and writes for BLVDS Magazine, and teaches through the DEO at UNLV. When she comes up for air, Chris drags her husband to Italy so she can do research for a book she’s writing about her Italian grandmother’s journey and legacy.