Introduction: My Year in Italy

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Symbol of Italy with its traditional green, white, and red stripes with the outline of Italy in the front.

My family and I spent a year in Italy when I was eleven years old. Airplane travel was still extremely expensive. Travel by ocean liner was actually more affordable, comfortable, and leisurely. So we opted for a nine day transatlantic voyage.

In fact, it was great fun. While living in Rome, we occupied a nine room apartment. Our education was at the Overseas School of Rome, a converted Roman Villa located outside the central city in the countryside.
This whole experience is probably the most memorable one of my entire seventy five year life. In fact I am writing this story now while I remember it and before I forget.

TITLE: MY YEAR IN ITALY

PART ONE: THE BEGINNING

Chapter One: Moving to Italy
My family and I spent a year living in Italy when I was eleven years old. Because airplane travel was still extremely expensive, we actually traveled by ocean liner. It was a nine day transatlantic voyage that was great fun. While living in Rome, we occupied a nine room apartment.
Chapter Two: Our Atlantic Crossing
Our transatlantic voyage took place three years after Grace Kelly traveled on the SS Constitution for her nuptial voyage to Monaco in 1956. Three years later in 1959 we sailed on the SS Constitution to Naples, Italy.

PART TWO: LIFE IN ITALY

Chapter Three: Settling Into Our Roman Home
My family and I spent a year living in Italy when I was eleven years old. Because airplane travel was still extremely expensive, we actually traveled by ocean liner. It was a nine day transatlantic voyage that was great fun. While living in Rome, we occupied a nine room apartment.


Our apartment in Rome that we occupied from Sept 1959 to June 1960 was on the second floor of a six story building. It contained nine marble floored rooms, was spacious enough for a foyer, a living room, a sitting room, a dining room, and a kitchen situated from the left end of the apartment to the grand entryway.

Chapter Four: School Days
School days at the (American) Overseas School of Rome still consist first of our bus adventure out of the town center. In our day, that was a trip into and home from the countryside. Although we all in different grades, we all took the same bus to the same rural campus.
Chapter Five: Daily Life
Daily Life in Rome was similar to and different from Long Island life. The differences made daily life in Rome much more fun.
Chapter Six: Popular American Movies Made in Rome
There were several popular American movies made in Rome around the time that we were living in Italy. Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, and Eddie Albert was the first. The screen play was written by Dalton Trumbo but published under a pseudonym due to his blacklisted status.

PART THREE: SPECIAL TIMES

Chapter Seven: Christmas Season in Rome
Roman Holiday Celebrations were much more extravagant as I remember. The two most outstanding were Christmas Season and New Years Eve.

PART FOUR: GOING HOME

Chapter Eight: Our Conclusion to Living in Rome
All too soon this story ends and we return to New York again by ship on the SS Constitution.

FOUR PART STORY WITH CHAPTER LINKS
PART ONE: THE BEGINNING
INTRODUCTION: My Year in Italy
1. Moving to Italy
2. Our Atlantic Crossing
3. Settling Into Our Roman Home

PART TWO: LIFE IN ITALY
4. School Days
5. Daily Life
6. Popular American Movies Made in Italy

PART THREE: SPECIAL TIMES
7. Christmas Season in Rome
PART FOUR: GOING HOME
8. Conclusion to Living in Rome

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