The English language library in an Italian town

by: Marilyn Owen (25 June 2014)

This is a remarkable story – a 19-year-old English woman stopped off at the Italian town of Alassio in 1959 on the way to Florence. However, she remained in the seaside town situated in Liguria as she fell in love with a local plumber. In fact, she never ever went to Florence!

Jacqueline Rosadoni, born Jacqueline Poole, has, for the last 27 years, settled into the role of volunteer librarian at Alassio's 18,000-book English language library. She admits that some of the more old-fashioned books, for example, by children's writers Enid Blyton and R M Ballantyne and such now obscure adult authors as Marie Belloc Lowndes and Neil Bell have not been loaned out for many years.

Instead, the works of Terry Pratchett and Roald Dahl take pride of place on the library’s shelves as well as paperback thrillers for the adults. What a boon for Italian English language students.

It was at the Villa San Giovanni in Alassio that the composer Elgar and his wife stayed. However, they were disappointed by the rainy weather and returned to England that winter.

The dedicated librarian said she never did reach Florence in the end, and after having now lived 55 years in Alassio states: "Everything I wanted was here."

Original story on the BBC.

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