«I have seen many “carnivals” and I want to stay here». After a night spent on a cot in the gym Chialamberto Anna «Clear» Garboline, 94 years old and with so much “grit still to sell”, he puts on his galoshes and scans the clouds gathering over the mountains of Chialamberto. A few meters away, separated by a puddle of water, there is his brother Mario88 years old, who on Saturday evening was the last to leave the ancient rustic house of White House, lapped by the stream that for a few hours divided the village in half.
“This was our parents’ house, it was once the most beautiful in all of Chialamberto. We were born here and we don’t want to leave.” Netta and Giorgio now live in Torinobut with the “good season”, they return Val Grande, in their apartments: «I’m on this side and the water hasn’t reached me – Giorgio is keen to point out -. At my sister’s house, however, the entire ground floor was flooded, the water reached the windows. When help arrived, we explained that we wanted to stay here, but they told us it wasn’t safe and so we spent the night in the demonstration hall. Then my nephew Alberto and his son Andrea arrived and started shoveling. And so, as soon as we could, we came back here. And now we’re staying there.”
The water is gone, mud and humidity remain. Andrea shovels non-stop, his trousers are covered in splashes and he is gently scolded by grandmother Netta: “You’re all dirty, bring me a brush and I’ll clean you up a bit.” The worst is over, but outside the courtyard, the mayor’s cell phone Gabriel Castellini he keeps ringing: “Shovels, we need shovels,” he replies to those who ask if he can be useful. And he adds: “And if you have a bulldozer, even better.”
The river that flooded Netta’s house now seems to have returned to its banks, but there are logs and boulders everywhere and, in case of rain, the road would flood again. The technicians of the Region are studying what to do and there are still isolated hamlets: “We are in constant contact – assures the mayor -. For the moment they are autonomous and we hope to resolve as soon as possible”.
Someone tries to convince Netta to move to a safer place, but she is adamant: «The water is only on the ground floor, I sleep on the first floor. What’s the problem? I have done everything in my life. When I was young I managed to get hired in the mine, overcoming the competition from the males. I worked there for two years and then I became a shirtmaker, the best in the country. And finally I sewed mattresses, there are many in the house. I can sleep anywhere and so I stay here.” Surrounded by the affection of their grandchildren, Mario and Netta enjoy a ray of sunshine sitting on the bench: «We hope that everything goes back to how it was before»
