Nonno Giovanni

by Isabella G

This is a story about a man called John Ricci.

It is 1998 and John lives in Sydney Australia and is married to his lovely wife Maria and has two children called Eloisa who is 5 years old and Henry who is 6.

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One day John was staying in a fancy hotel that looked at the Anzac Bridge in Sydney. This bridge was only opened in 1995 and is the

longest span cable-stayed bridge in Australia.

They were in the city for an awards ceremony that night.

He was waiting for Maria to finish getting dressed, because she always took so long. He started looking out the window at the bridge and remembering back when he

was nine years old and first met his Nonno Giovanni.

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To tell John’s story we need to go back to the beginning, right back to the beginning, about thirty years ago when John was a young boy who loved playing pinball machines

and soccer and everything was very different.

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His dad came home from work one day with very big news. “We are going to Italy to see your Nonna Rosa and Nonno Giovanni”, said dad.

“We are going to take a wonderful holiday and travel for a year”, mum said.

My sisters Millie and Mollie didn’t want to go, but I thought it would be really awesome.

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So the family packed up the house, put everything in storage and gave their dog Oscar to their neighbours to look after. They packed their bags and jumped on a plane.

John had never been on a plane before and he was very excited.

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They lifted off from the airport and flew over The Sydney Harbour Bridge. John had driven across it lots of times but it was such an amazing sight from up so high.

His mum told him that it opened in 1932 and is the world’s widest long-spanned arch bridge. She also said that it was called ‘The Coat hanger’ because of its shape.

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As part of their trip they stopped and travelled in Thailand for a month. They went on a few tours to see all around Thailand and the famous attractions.

One stop his dad promised he would make was to see the Bridge over the River Kwai.

Millie thought it would be boring but Mollie and John were really looking forward to it. Dad had told them the sad story of all the prisoners that died while building it.

This is a truss railway bridge built in 1943. The square spans are where the Americans bombed the bridge in 1945.

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After their amazing time in Thailand they flew to England and were going to spend two and a half weeks there.

Millie is still complaining about being away from home and her friends. John keeps talking about the buildings and especially the bridges he saw in Thailand.

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They arrive in London and walk through the city at night and John sees an incredible sight, the Tower Bridge in London all lit up. He then hears the chimes

of Big Ben which are loud and wonderful.

They get fish and chips for dinner and sit watching the River Thames and the bridge. He discovers this is a combined bascule and suspension bridge and was nearly

100 years old, opening in 1894.

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They go to Scotland on a train and travel over the Forth Bridge. This is a railway bridge that opened in 1890. It is 2.5 kilometres long which seems to go on forever over the water. It is

actually the second longest single cantilever bridge span in the world.

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They are now so thrilled because they are on a plane to Italy to finally see their Nonna Rosa and Nonno Giovanni. John is so excited when he can see Venice from the window of the

plane that he wants to jump up and down but he can’t because he has to stay in his seat.

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They get off the plane and run to see their Nonna and Nonno. There are lots of hugs and Italian kisses (which are one kiss on each cheek).

They drive to an old stone building in the centre of the town where Nonno and Nonno live and eat a spectacular and yummy pasta meal. Millie and Mollie want to learn how to cook with their

Nonna Rosa because it was so good.

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John loves his Nonno Giovanni who likes exactly the same things that John likes such as old buildings and bridges. He can now see why he is named after him

because they are so much alike.

Nonno Giovanni decides to take his son and grandson on a trip for a few weeks while the girls spend cooking time with Nonna Rosa and shopping time with mum.

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Nonno Giovanni first takes them to see more of Venice which is full of old buildings so is like a wonderland for John whose eyes are wide open all the time.

They walk across one of Venice’s icons, Ponte di Rialto (the Rialto Bridge). This is the oldest stone bridge across the main canal in Venice. It is a single span

arch bridge and was built in 1591, which makes it 400 years old.

When it was built everyone thought it would not last and would fall down.

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Next stop is France where they travel in a tiny little jeep.They travel across lots of rivers and through lots of green and

beautiful countryside with heaps of farms and animals along the road. They get to southern France and cross the Gard River and the Pont du Gard.

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Nonno Giovanni tells John that the Pont du Gard is 2,000 years old, built by the Romans in ancient times. It was used as an aqueduct and a bridge.

The aqueduct carried water to the towns and the bridge was for getting across the river.

The Pont du Gard is a world heritage site.

His Nonno told him that he always loved these old bridges and thought the builders were amazing. He always wished he studied to be an engineer so he could build great things such as this bridge.

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John is having the best time of his life.

They travel to Spain in the jeep and then get on a boat on the Tagus River to see the great views and countryside.

They then see an enormous stone bridge ahead of them which John knows is an arch bridge that Nonno Giovanni says is called Alcantara.

This bridge was built in 106 which means it is also 2,000 years old. Parts of it kept being blown up and rebuilt during all the old wars.

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They leave their cute jeep behind and travel by train to Switzerland. They stay in Lucerne which is a pretty town in the mountains and is very old.

They go out for lunch and walk across the Kapellbrucke (The Chapel Bridge). Nonno told them that this is the oldest wooden covered footbridge in Europe and the world’s oldest surviving truss bridge.

It was built in 1333, which makes it over 650 years old. It is such a beautiful bridge over the Reuss River and covered in lots of flowers, and not like anything John had seen before.

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It was now time to head back to Italy to spend some time with all the family, and to meet and get to know the rest of John’s relatives.

The next six months are fantastic. John gets to know all his cousins and zios and zias (uncles and aunties). This is also the first time he meets a pretty little girl called Maria,

who lives in his Nonno’s town, and who one day would be is wife. They would play together all day.

He especially loved all the time he spent with his Nonno Giovanni who taught him so much.

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That was such a long time ago but John can remember every minute of it.

All of a sudden John wakes up from his daydream when Maria comes in the room. She gives him an Italian kiss and says

“I’m ready, time to go or we’ll be late”.

He looks out the window at the Anzac Bridge again and wishes his Nonno Giovanni, who died a long time ago, was with him. He missed him very much.

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There were over 200 people in the large ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. Everyone was dressed in black tie and colourful ball gowns.

There was a big announcement about to take place and Maria kept squeezing John’s hand because she was so nervous.

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A loud voice spoke into the microphone and said “We would like to announce that the winner of the 1998 Australian Construction Achievement Award is

John Ricci for his extraordinary Anzac Bridge design. Congratulations”.

Everyone clapped and cheered. John was so happy and knew that his Nonno would be so proud.

He dedicated the award to him.

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The End

Story by Isabella G - 3S

Illustrations by Isabella G. Images from Google

All characters in this story are fictional and based on Isabella’s family

Isabella is currently working on her parents to take her to see all the bridges mentioned in this book

November 2011. Sydney, Australia

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