Siwmai, some years ago I used to be active on this wonderful forum (under the name “Seren”) so those who have been here for a while might still remember me.
I realize that my request is a bit unusual but I thought “if there’s a chance to find what I’m looking for, it’ll be via Say something in Welsh community”.
I’m married to a native Welsh speaker (South Wales) and we are living and raising our children (a boy who’s 2,3 and a baby girl) in Emilia Romagna in Italy.
Language has always been very important for us so our toddler is trilingual (Welsh, Russian and Italian, Welsh being the strongest and Italian the weakest language).
Except for phone calls, our son only ever hears Welsh from my husband and from cartoons, and we’d like to change that, because we want him to see and know that Welsh is a living language.
So if you are based in Italy and you have children and you want Welsh-speaking company, or if maybe you’re on holiday in Italy and would like to meet up, please send me a message here. We live in a tiny town, but we can drive to meet you to a lot of places in Emilia Romagna (Modena, Bologna, Parma, Reggio Emilia) or to Tuscany. I know Modena quite well so I can be a tour guide for you, if you want.
(If you don’t have children but you’d like to spend an afternoon speaking Welsh, we’d also love to meet up).
Dw i’n cofio ti Seren. I can vouch for your qualities as a great host. It’s lovely that you’re keeping your children in touch with all the languages that are important to you.
Dw i’n dy gofio di hefyd, Seren! I remember you too!
I’m going to be in Italy next week, as it happens, but only in Torino. I’ll definitely pop your request into the newsletter. It would be lovely for your children to have others to speak with in Welsh.
You could also contact Heather at Contact Us - Daily Italian Words who lives with her Italian husband in Tywyn, west Wales, speaks Welsh fluently, and also has children. She may have some contacts for you.
Hello Seren! Lovely to see you, and to hear how your journey has continued - this seems like a very good excuse for Welsh speakers to visit Italy
We want to do an improved social layer for Welsh speakers/learners, but it’s going to take us a couple of years. I hope it will help with this kind of thing when it’s ready, though.
I know an Italian-Welsh family in Piedmont!
Mom from Wales, first-language Welsh speaker, dad from Italy and 2 children (can’t remember exact age, but both older than yours I’m sure).
I’ll write them and keep you updated via private message.
Kinda curious story, I guess:
Children weren’t really learning Welsh, at first.
Then they got in touch with me because mom’s mom, in Wales, had read on BBC Cymru fyw about an Italian learning Welsh in Torino (that would be me ).
We got the chance to meet once (with the Welsh speaking mom, not whole family), but then lockdown started and for various reasons we kinda lost a bit track of one another until recently, when we exchanged a few messages.
Looks like the fact that someone here was making the effort to learn the language kinda made them realize it would be worth doing a bit more to pass the language on to them and it seems they’re quite fluent by now!
(hopefully I’ll get the chance to meet them all at some point in the summer, but in the meantime I’ll let them know of your existence!)
Diolch yn fawr, @siaronjames a @Deborah-SSi! I’ll definitely contact Heather! @margaretnock Yfi’n dy gofio di hefyd - ac yn gweld isie dy gwmni di yn aml iawn. Your visit and meeting you in Cymru are some of the loveliest memories I have connected to learning Welsh and Welsh-speaking people. I hope to see you again someday! @aran Lovely to see everyone here, old and new people! I I’d be delighted to be a tour guide for Welsh speakers - and Emilia Romagna is well worth a visit (actually, I think there’s even a novel in Welsh set in this region). I’m really looking forward to what you’re preparing for connecting Welsh speakers - I realize it’ll become increasingly important for my children to see other people speaking in Welsh as they become older.
@gisella-albertini Thank you for responding! What a lovely story, it must be a wonderful feeling to know you’ve inspired people to learn Welsh! I hope I get a chance to meet them, Piemonte is a bit far, but if they would be willing to travel a bit we could meet somewhere between it and Emilia Romagna.
Maybe not related but Emilia Romagna and especially Bardi area is where a lot (or even most?) of Italians who moved to Wales came from, and there’s still a strong link (with events, too - makes me think one is probably in August and I’d better check details - in case I can organize a quick trip!
p.s. also there’s a group in Wales called Amici Val di Ceno (the name of the area) organizing events - I missed their “scampagnata” for a day this year!
Yes!
By the way, I can’t remember if I had discovered the story of the area thanks to that programme (I probably did).
But one sure thing is that I visited Bardi because of its story. When I went there I started asking everybody if they had connections with Wales or even spoke Welsh.
And found myself showing the programme on S4C Clic to some of the people who are actually in the programme - but had never seen it, and said would pass it around to other people!
@aran I haven’t read that novel myself and I don’t even remember its name, but some time ago there was a discussion on facebook in Clwb Darllen Cymraeg about novels in Welsh set outside Wales, and someone mentioned a novel set in Emilia Romagna… By the way, Sioned Wiliam’s new book Y gwyliau is also set in Italy, in Umbria. It seems like Welsh writers really like Italy:)
@gisella-albertini Thank you for mentioning Bardi! I have heard that there are a number of people from Wales living there, but we haven’t visited it so far. Did you find anyone speaking Welsh there?
@alisa_k unfortunately, not on that day!
But I did find a few Welsh-Italians and they told me there’s more chances in the summer because more people who live in Wales come back for a holiday or visiting other relatives and friends.
However, it seems that it was mostly the older generations who could often speak a mix of Welsh-English-Italian and local dialects and made summer really lively and special. But sadly not many of them are still alive.
In any case if you’re not far I think the area is worth a visit.
I remember reading something in a small museum or exhibition about Italians in Wales (and their difficult long trips to reach it), but I don’t remember exactly if it was temporary nor where it was.
But I remember there is a chapel in the cemetery dedicated to the many who died on the Arandora Star ship which is a tragic, but interesting story.
I think the ristorante Le Due Spade owner (or someone in the staff) had moved back to Italy from Wales and even if things may have changed in the meantime, it could be a good place to start a search.
p.s. I didn’t receive an answer from the family with children I had mentioned, I know they’re on holiday so maybe they’ll answer when they’re back (I’ll keep you updated).
@gisella-albertini Thank you so much for all the information about Bardi, we’ll try to arrange a visit in September or October! I’m sure even if we don’t manage to actually find Welsh speakers it’ll still be a very interesting place to explore. @siaronjames Thank you! Yes, I think I recall that the book set in Emilia Romagna was by Mared Lewis. I should really read it myself (also because I really enjoyed other books by this author)
).