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‘The ceremony was held in the Villa Antonio Park,
close to the chimney sweeps museum in Santa Maria Maggiore. The weather was
fantastic as it had been for the days leading up to Saturday 2nd and also for a few days after. With
unsettled weather in the region throughout the summer, our ‘lucky’ day was
off to a good start. The scent of gardens trees wafted on the sunshine warmed
morning breeze. The chatter and hum of the hundreds of sweeps, and close
friends and family was all around, as I walked into the park along with two
very smart boys. Both Wendy and I were married before. Dale is my oldest son
who now resides with us, and Matthew is our son from Wendy’s previous
marriage. My youngest son, Stephen was unfortunately not with us for reasons
best known to my ex wife. My Best Man David Booth, chairman of the Northern
Ireland Association of Chimney Sweeps took his place beside me and we waited.
Calls from the crowd telling me there were unconfirmed reports of a gorgeous
woman seen hitch hiking in the opposite direction in a wedding dress did
nothing to help the situation, and my best man telling me I still had time to
run myself were comical moments, until an audible hush fell over the congregated
attendees, followed by applause, cheers and whistles. I knew that Wendy, her
sister Nichola and our three-year-old Daughter Katie had arrived. Nichola and
Katie led the way with Katie scattering petals from her basket, while
apparently PLANTING her bouquet because she couldn’t find a vase. Mud and
cream flower girl dresses should not be uttered in the same breath, but after
the magic of baby wipes, all was fine…little angel. Wendy looked stunning as she meandered her
way through the crowds of sweeps, like a jewel twinkling in a coal mine. We
couldn’t stop smiling when she joined me in front of the Mayor. Our wedding
day had arrived at last. |
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After the ceremony spoken in Italian, translated
into English by Dino, and lots of hugs, kisses and photographs, we were all
transported to the next village up the valley where a statue has been
erected. The region is steeped in chimney sweeping history, which began in
the 1800’s. Even up to the 1930’s poverty forced the communities to ‘rent’
children out to become chimney sweeps. Young boys about five or six would be
sought considering they would be of slight build and could be sent up the
chimneys to clean them. This practice was notorious for cruelty and children
had a pitiless existence, often at tender years, being left to sleep in barns
or the streets alone, while having little food. Illness and malnutrition
would inevitably befall them. The statue was erected as a monument in
remembrance of all the “sooty” child sweeps and especially Fausto Cappini of
Re, who was electrocuted while working. The tragic accident occurred in 1931
when the little sweep, after sweeping a chimney, inadvertently touched a
high-tension electrical cable with his hand while gesturing to his boss that
he had finished the chimney. He was barely 14 years old. The statue is about
one and a half meters high and is the work of Luigi Teruggi, a sculpter in
Milan. This statue has a breathtaking backdrop of the Italian Alps and is the
meeting place of sweeps worldwide on the first Saturday of September. We were
introduced to the crowds of sweeps, and had our photographs taken with our
families, as well as sweeps from Germany, Italy, Sweden, Scotland, Canada,
and America to list just a few, as well as just both of us at the statue. |
