Chapter Twenty-Two

Here we cover one of the most devastating periods of Rossano's life; the death of his wife, Lydia. 

During our conversation, we go into detail about an arms smuggling case that he became mixed up in. This conversation takes place in the church of S. Teresa di Gesù, the church situated next door to their penthouse apartment where Lydia's funeral service took place. The arms smuggling court case was a huge deal in Italy in the early 1980s as thousands of people were being investigated. It's an interesting insight into the politics in Italy at the time. You will see, in the book, that Rossano speaks very little about this because there were no interviews available to me at the time of publication. However, I managed to find an interview he did a few years after where he wants to set the record straight. This is in the 'News' section on this website.

I'm grateful to Ervin Ukusic, the priest who kindly took these photos for me of this small, yet beautiful, church.

I did, of course, pay my respects to Lydia at the Cimitero Flaminio, about a forty minute train ride from Rome. The cemetery is landscaped with far-reaching views, flowering shrubs and tall Cypress trees. As you can see, Lydia's tomb is very simple and understated as neither Lydia nor Rossano wanted any fuss.

The photo on the right is an enlarged one of the image on the tomb. A beautiful photo, I think.