Piacenza

The final and most important stop on our little road trip of Northern Italy was just south of Milan…

In 2001, just days before the Twin Towers fell, I (Emily) turned up in Piacenza to live with complete strangers for a year. I had flown all the way from Sydney and didn’t know a lick of Italian. I was 16 years old.

The impression and impact that experience had has stuck with me for life. Immersing yourself in a completely foreign setting is as daunting as it is thrilling. It takes courage and curiosity. It wasn’t easy, but it sure was positive. It has stood me in good stead over the years, proving that nothing is impossible and everything is surmountable.

We have been waiting a long time to make the return trip to Piacenza. It was, after all, the epicentre of the Italian COVID crisis. But all the more reason to make the extra effort! Finally, after sailing across the Mediterranean, up the length of the Adriatic and driving across the country, we made it happen.

20 years later I walked back into that town and was welcomed with open arms and loving hearts. Those strangers had become friends and family that I hadn’t seen in decades. But we caught up as if it were yesterday. I showed my children where I lived and went to school. And I introduced them to all the good people who looked after me when I was just a young kid from the other side of the world, looking for adventure.