Dolci Ricordi: Sweet Memories, an Italian Reel

Nonna and Poppy Mario (photo provided by author)

For years, childhood memories of my grandparents came to me like slides of an old film reel with no sound. I saw Poppy Mario sitting at the kitchen table with a newspaper and a cigarette — smoke rising and dissipating around their maroon and orange glass light fixture. Nonna looking out the window at the Legnini’s house as she washed dishes. My brother and I playing in the bathtub, across from the bidet in…