Lives of the Saints

On Vittorio’s 7th birthday at the end of August, they take the “bus” to Rocca Secca. The irregular bus is really a converted truck driven by a man known as Cazzingulo. Vittorio describes the history of Rocca Secca. It used to be a wealthy town, but now it is in decline. The wealthiest man in town was once Alberto Giardini. He had served in the military and returned dressed like a beggar, then “dropped his pants to his knees to touch his bared buttocks to the stone” (59) in the middle of the town square, a sign of bankruptcy. Afterward, he returned to his family estate and transformed it into a strange jungle zoo which was abandoned after his death. The people in Rocca Secca are known “as people whose surface smiles hid a meanness of spirit” (60).

At the market in Rocca Secca, people give Vittorio coins for his birthday. When Vittorio asks to leave, Cristina’s friend Luciano carries Vittorio out on his shoulders. Luciano gives Vittorio an old lira coin with a dent in it. He tells Vittorio it is his lucky coin that saved him from getting shot and killed during World War II when it deflected a bullet.