Additional information
by Christine Foster Meloni (Author)
Andrea Meloni was born in Year VI (1928) of the Fascist Era in Italy. In his memoir he tells stories about growing up in Mussolini's Italy. In elementary school he delighted in being a little fascist, participating in military drills in his schoolyard and the streets of Rome. As a teenager he gradually became disillusioned with fascism as Mussolini led Italy into World War II on the side of Germany and eventually fell from power when the Allies began their invasion of Italy. He describes the first years of his life living in extreme poverty in the village of Acuto (Frosinone), his move to Rome at age five, the years under Mussolini followed by the terrors of the German occupation of Rome and the dangerous civil war between fascists and partisans, and finally the overwhelming post-war devastation.
Author Biography
Christine Foster Meloni fell in love with Italy while studying Latin in high school. She went on to earn degrees in Italian Language and Literature at Wells College (B.A.) and the University of Florence (M.A.), in Pedagogia at the University of Rome (M.A.), in Linguistics at American University (M.A.), and a doctorate in International Higher Education at George Washington University. After moving to Rome, she met and married Andrea Meloni and lived there for ten years, teaching English at the English School, Euroschool, and School for Translators and Interpreters. Returning to the U.S. with Andrea and their sons Adriano and Marcello, she taught English as a Foreign Language for 27 years at George Washington University where she is Professor Emerita. She is currently the Washington, DC correspondent for the national Norwegian American newspaper.
