Susi tells me about her relationship with other people, and I ask if she found it difficult to socialise. Susi takes part in countless activities though, and this helped her from the start. “Music, volunteering with the FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano), getting to know other mothers when my kids were in school, the fact that I speak Italian quite well … it all helped me to create a network that developed very quickly, I have never felt very lonely.”
An important part of this, she admits, is the fact she has always lived in Ortigia. Then again, this was the “deal” she made with her husband when she moved to Sicily: a house in Ortigia, but at a time when Ortigia was not yet what we see today, when her friends told her going to live in Ortigia was madness, the houses were old, with no heating, and the island was almost empty. “At the time, there was only one pizzeria in Piazza Duomo, the Vecchio Pub, and not much else.” “We were undeterred, though, we bought a house, we’re still here, we’re still happy”.
What makes Susi happy, besides admiring the historical and artistic beauty of Ortigia, thanks to her "occupational obsession", is the human side of the island, its size, which makes it more like a small village. “Living and working in Ortigia allowed me to meet countless people - she explains - they may not be friends, but they’re always friendly faces”. “The shopkeepers, the traffic wardens, they’re all people you know, who you stop and chat to, even if not for long, even if just for a quick hello”. Speaking as another “ortigiana”, I think this characteristic is what helps to make it more “Ortigia” than the Temple of Apollo or the fountain of Arethusa, and is what helped Susi feel at home