The small miracle occurred in recent days: Quintino Sanna, who will turn 100 in October, dug into his memory and sang a song he had written for his 97-year-old wife Antonina Murgia on the occasion of their wedding, celebrated in the parish of Santa Vittoria on September 6, 1951.
Work in the fields
The couple celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on Sunday at their home on Via Fermi, an almost impossible milestone to achieve in life, blessed with the arrival of seven children, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
Their love was born when Italy was rising from the ashes of the Second World War and the arrival of the Sarroch refinery was still a long way off: for much of his life, Quintino worked as a grafter and worked the land, while Antonina took care of the family but never backed down when her husband needed her help in the countryside.
That distant time
To condense 75 years of marriage would require the pages of a novel, but Antonina Murgia—holding her husband's hand tightly on the living room sofa—tries to do so in a few sentences: "We got married on a Thursday. It may seem strange, but weddings used to be celebrated every day of the week. At the time, there were no restaurants in Sarroch. After the ceremony, we had lunch at my father-in-law's house with a few guests. I still remember the spit-roasted chickens cooked in a wood-fired oven."
No regrets. "We've had a long, happy life together. Like all families, we've had to overcome obstacles, but we've always stayed together."
Talent of “cantadori”
Quintino Sanna's skill in his craft was renowned throughout the area, which is why he would sometimes ride his bicycle to Domus de Maria to graft plants: he was so fast that he could graft up to 150 plants in a day. The rhythm of such a long love was marked by the notes of songs that now live only on 45s, no longer played on record players. "We liked Claudio Villa and Aurelio Fierro," says Antonina Murgia, "but I've always loved what my husband wrote, too; he was a singer just like his father: it was lovely the other day to hear him recite to me the beautiful words he dedicated to me when we were young."
A precious gift
Luca Sanna, one of the couple's seven children, bears witness to this long-standing love, which has now reached its diamond wedding anniversary: "This anniversary also represents a precious gift for the younger generations of our family: a rare example of dedication, resilience, and fidelity. We, their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, find in their story a living testimony that love, when cultivated with care and respect, can truly last 'forever.'"
In a world that often favors individualism, she emphasizes, "the promise my parents kept for three-quarters of a century becomes a guide, a beacon, a moral and emotional legacy that will continue to shine through. We will be forever grateful to them for all the values they instilled in us, and for always being an example to follow."
Ivan Murgana
