May 17, 2023. Albereto, a small village in the countryside of Faenza. I remember early in the morning already water in the fields, ditches, canals overflowing, father and I desperate. Nobody warned us that this could happen, neither the night before, nor the morning… Absolute silence! We tried to save everything we could, inside and outside the house, but now there was nothing left to do, a river of water was entering the house too.
I remember dad outside on a bench, me inside the house unable to open the door to let him in… I pushed with all my strength and finally I managed to take him by the arm and drag him upstairs with the water that kept increasing moreover. Everything downstairs was floating, a mess! We call for help: dozens of helicopters all day and all night, but no one saves us! I remember the long night in bed, dressed, backpack ready with a few things, hungry AND thirsty.
At 3pm on May 18th a dinghy finally arrives, we get off with tears in our eyes, wet and cold we make room between floating doors and furniture, we are finally safe! They take us to our family, hug us with emotion, prepare us a dinner, a hot shower and a clean bed. Everything else is a real disaster. Thanks to my mud angels who gave us so much help. We have lost so much, so many memories that no one will ever give us back, but we are safe! Those days will remain etched in our minds forever.
Loretta, Albereto
In view of the first anniversary of the tragedy that struck our territory, RavennaToday collects and publishes readers’ memories and testimonies on what happened in those days. Contributions sent by readers must be received in writing, with texts of at least 1,500 characters, accompanied – if possible – by photographs or videos. The objective is to build and keep alive a collective memory of what happened on May 16, 2023 and in the following days. We do not accept content of a few lines or only photos or videos. To send your text, send an email to [email protected]
