Looking forward to another time in Italy.

The greatest joy of all when in Italy is having the opportunity to spend time with my husband's family who live nearby. He's the youngest son and as well as a brother he has two older sisters and two younger sisters. All of them have adult children living in the area with their own families except for the couple who lived in England who moved back to Italy on retirement. My husband's father had a first family, was widowed and then married again, but he died suddenly when my husband and his younger sisters were young.  My mother-in-law was a kind, hard-working woman.  She travelled several times to England for holidays which meant that my own family and friends got to know her too. 

The above left hand photo is the only one that my husband has of his father. The original is tiny.  His mother is wearing the traditional regional costume.  The photo on the right was taken when Mamma came over to England for a holiday.

Above and below in the first collages is her home where she lived with her daughter and where my sister-in-law and her family continue to live. Our nephew is building upwards to give them more room and separate apartments for the growing family. 

My husband's youngest sister and husband also have a growing family as their son and daughter both have young children.

Below is my husband's sister and husband who lived in England before they moved back to Italy. We enjoy their company and their hospitality in their lovely home. We're really looking forward to our summer holiday with them as two of their children and some of their adult grandchildren will be joining us and our own children and grandchildren.  It will be very special for everyone.

Finally, it's always good to visit my husband's oldest sister who lives in a ground floor apartment opposite the home of her daughter and son-in-law in a gated courtyard complex of family houses. She's quite frail now after falling and damaging her back, but still sits and helps her daughter by doing small domestic jobs such as folding linen and preparing vegetables. The photo below was taken when we went to visit a couple of years ago and found her gathering salad leaves in the vineyard and vegetable plot.