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Nonno Pino

The Fontanelle Cemetery gave him shelter during the war and, even today, it is the place where he feels at home.

Nonno Pino

Nonno Pino, aka Giuseppe Vignis, 91 years old and many lives lived.

He was born and raised in the Fontanelle area, in a time worn down by hunger and war.
As a child, he used to go to the Cemetery and, without being seen by the caretaker, blow out the candles that had almost burnt down, carry them to the bell tower of the little church to melt them, and with that handful of wax he managed to earn a few coins.

For twenty years he would go on blowing, no longer candles but glass, becoming one of the most skilled glass blowers from the Fontanelle.

The Fontanelle, his safe place

He was only nine years old when, during the Four Days of Naples, he took refuge in the Fontanelle Cemetery. They were tragic days filled with tears, dust and fear. Throughout the war, the Cemetery would offer him safe shelter, like an ancient womb.

Even today, whenever nostalgia grows strong, he goes back to the Fontanelle. Not because there is something there that still belongs to him, but because that is where his heart returns whenever it needs to feel at home again.

Grandfather Pino, former glass blower and proud guardian of the district’s identity.

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