LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF 1957

1a Foreword

1b INTRODUCTION:
1. Every life is a story worth telling—From the hills of Cilento to the South Downs of Sussex…

2. Lights and shadows of 1957

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF 1957

I was born in 1957, a year that was to become the peak of the Baby Boomer years. It was an extraordinary year marked by extraordinary events.

In science, it is the year of the beginning of the space race, with the launch of Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 and 2, the latter being the first with a dog on board (Laika).

In technology, 1957 was the year of Chevrolet and Fiat 500; and the year when the first electric portable typewriter was placed on sale.

On the political front, it was the year of the signing of The Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community, a predecessor of the European Union.

In cinema and literature it was the year of Dr Zhivago; on the music scene it is the year of Elvis, of Little Richard, Buddy Holly, and Gene Vincent. In Italy, it is the year of Renato Carosone and his boogie-woogie trio.

1957 was also the year of the inauguration of RAI, the Italian broadcasting network, and the debut of Carosello, with its enjoyable, unforgettable tv commercials which accompanied the early part of the life of many Italians of my generation.

On July 6 of that year – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers, at Woolton Fete, 3 years before forming the Beatles.

Some of my favourite actors, such as John Turturro and Spike Lee, are born in 1957; others like Humphrey Bogart and Oliver Hardy die.

This, in a nutshell, is an outline of just some of the events that took place in the year of 1957. But by far the most important event of that year, you would agree, is my birth, without which I would not be here to tell you my story!