Daniel J. Quinn
un Anglo-becero

I was born in Florence at the end of October 1951 (Astrologically speaking, Scorpio with, I am told, Scorpio ascendant).

And since I came into the world in Via Petrio Thouar, a few steps from the Duomo, I truly and proudly consider myself an Anglo-becero in all respects, since my father was English and my mother Italian. (Becero is a typically Florentine term for an ignorant, boisterous and vulgar person, but Anglo-becero is an affectionate compliment - the spirit of the Florentines!)
A famous Anglo-vulgar was Lord Harold Acton, who I had the pleasure and honor of knowing personally.
So I'm in good company!
I was told that a few hours after my birth, my father took me out, alone, in a pram: a very unusual event for these times for a father to do such a thing in Italy! With his 'British' mentality, I think he didn't care about what people would murmur.
The house that my parents were building, on the Bolognese, was not yet ready, so, while my father took care of the leather shop that my parents had in Piazza Santa Croce, my mother moved with me to Tonfano, in Versilia. This is where I spent my first winter and where I spent countless summers in the following years. Always at the same Bagno: the Nettuno Alba. Until the 1970s, that plant was owned by the Landi family, from Querceta and was managed by the elderly Signora Lisandra. For years, as a child, I associated her with the "Nonna Abelarda" in the comics. The lifeguard, Armando, was the incarnation of the old sea dog: skin marked by brackish, half Tuscan cigar in the mouth, sailor's hat, he only needed a glance at the horizon and he predicted the weather for three days to come.
Since then, the Summonti family (the same as the old restaurant "Il Garibaldino" in Viareggio), has transformed it into one of the best bathing establishments in Versilia.

Tex - 1961
My dog

Then the house in Florence was completed and I lived most of my life there. In the garden, or in the relative safety of the avenue of the condominium, I played with my friends and neighbors: Nicola Brechler, Daniele Dal Monte, Gianluca Seravalli and Luca Tassi.
Happy times, when you played hide-and-seek or chase each other outdoors and the world was all a great adventure to discover! I had a beautiful dog, Tex, and a "Smokey" Siamese cat. One of my favorite games was the "Meccano", with which I spent whole afternoons assembling and disassembling.

I can certainly say that I lived a peaceful and happy childhood and adolescence.

Today I am the proud grandfather of Vicky, a beautiful and intelligent child, and I am retired. What happened between childhood and now is reported in these pages. Absolutely all? No, it would be neither possible nor correct ...
But maybe that's enough to get the idea...

Enjoy yourself!