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Amarcord 70s
The Decade that shaped us

1979
(Published 18 August 2020)

The initiatives completed in 1978 had been highly successful. Finally something was moving in Moschiano, the young people had something to do and above all we did it with great harmony and unity.

The group had expanded and went beyond the two parish communities. But to complete all those initiatives something more formal was needed.

We knew that in the 60s the young people of the time (who were our mentors in the 70s) had formed a Cultural Club named after Michele Caputo, Magistrate of Moschiano in the 20s and 30s, based in the houses that once were where there are now 'is the small square with the reconstruction of the "Fountains". Of that group in addition to the lawyer. Mimi' Moschiano we remember the lawyer. Pietro Manfredi, Lawyer Franco Addeo, Prof. Anna Laura Palumbieri, Prof. Irma Palumbieri, Dr. Delfino Santaniello, Prof. Salvatore Manfredi, Dr. Carmine Vona, Lawyer Giacomo Dalia, Rag Francesco (Ciccio) Vona, Prof. Desiderio Pacia and many others, some very young at the time. Famous at the time was an encyclopedia and a collection of books (it seems impressive) that the Caputo-Aschettino family had and which they had made available to the club.

We didn't want to be outdone because we firmly believed that culture was the key to the rebirth of Moschiano.

Spurred on by Mayor Mimi', the City Council, and the Parish Priests, we decided in  1979 to give life to a similar association of a civil nature independent of the parishes but which at the same time would gravitate around them. This would not only have ensured a formal status for the group but would have allowed it to have a more "open" entity covering not only the two parish communities and the groups within them (such as Catholic Action) but also gave space to those who were not part of these groups. Furthermore, this step would have opened the doors to incentives that the Municipality and Provincial Tourism Board could make available to us for the good of Moschiano. The Association was improperly called Pro-Loco even though it was neither legally constituted nor recognized by the Provincial Tourism Board and was named after Michele Caputo. The lawyer Pietro Manfredi was elected President. One day Pietro and I went to ask "Donna Ninuccia" for the famous Encyclopedia. Unfortunately it wasn't granted to us.

From then on, almost all the initiatives were completed in the name of Michele Caputo.  For example, we continued with the Seconda Estate Moschianese, but we also had the opportunity to dedicate a street (the former "Cupa da Chianca") to Prof Carmine Pacia, a man of letters from Moschiano who had emigrated to Como and had written some essays on Italian literature and other works. We invited the surviving family members to the dedication but they were unable to come but sent us a copy of his works. (see further details on Prof Carmine Pacia here)

We also named another street after an illustrious Moschianese who almost no one knew or remembered. The so-called “Vico Pacia” was named after Sister Angiola della Pace originally from Moschiano who, if I remember correctly, seems to have been born in that alley. (See more details about Sister Angiola della pace here)

The Moschianse Estate of that year was another success albeit with some "injuries". In fact, both Dr. Eligio, Gigino Volino and I suffered fractures or sprains in our feet and were forced into a forced "semi-rest". Dr. Salvatore Esposito from Moschiano but orthopedist at the Avellino hospital put us back on track.

For Christmas, however, we wanted to decorate Moschiano a little. Making lights would have been very expensive. We then decided to decorate Moschiano with stars covered in glittering sequins and to use public lighting as a source of light. The stars would have shone with reflected light. Marco Arpaia and I went to Naples to buy the material while the expert carpenter Nicola Moschiano guided us and gave us a hand and tools to build the stars in the municipal rooms on the ground floor which had also become the headquarters of the Pro Loco. In addition to the stars, we also decorated the pine trees in front of the school building. It certainly wasn't New York's Fifth Avenue but at least it was a sign of celebration for Moschiano at Christmas. I remember that on Christmas Eve I was still there climbing a pine tree putting up decorations when my father passed by on his way to church.  He made me finish quickly because on Christmas Eve before dinner we had to go to church for the Thanksgiving Blessing and then everyone went home to eat and we only went out to go to Midnight Mass. Other times.

For the purpose of Pro Loco Headquarters. It was in the rooms on the ground floor of the town hall. Those rooms were very humid and without heating. To alleviate the problem a little we decided once again to give vent to our imagination. We bought some sheets of expanded polystyrene (aka polystyrene) in Naples with which we covered all the walls and then covered them with plywood. We thought that the insulating effect of the polystyrene would help us. I remember returning from Naples with the lawyer Pietro Manfredi   and his car full of polystyrene in Sopravia we were stopped by agents of the Guardia di Finanza who became suspicious of all that stuff. They wanted to give us a fine because we didn't have the so-called "delivery bill". It took all of Pietro's expertise for them to let us go without fining us.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the group Gli Asteroidi, another musical group had been formed, this one more "commercial" in nature (in the sense that they played out of passion but dedicated themselves to cheering up baptism parties, weddings, etc.): I " Tilt”.  From that group we remember Alfonso Squitieri, Salvatore “e Proverenza”  Del Duca, Ciccio Cosenza, Sergi Pacia, Pasquale Pacia and Giovanni Vona who sang.  I'm not sure if this happened in 1979 or maybe 1978.

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