Sitting at the front desk, Annunziata Murgia - ninety years old last December 22 - is ready for a new lesson. There are only a few weeks left for the middle school exam, a dream that has been cultivated for a long time and is now finally reachable thanks to the evening courses attended at the Provincial Center for Adult Education in Dolianova. After an intense life made up of work, family and sacrifices, Annunziata today spends her time between books and notebooks. The goal is near thanks to willpower and tenacity. And a great curiosity that has never faded over time. «The school helps me to go on despite some health problems - he says smiling - I recently suffered a fracture of the femur, a trauma that has created many problems for me. I can no longer ride a bicycle. And to think that until two years ago I was doing six kilometers a day. Now I find it harder to walk but I certainly don't stay still. I didn't even want crutches: I help myself with the shopping trolley and I go everywhere. Coming to school distracts me. The teachers are very good, special people because they give me strength and enthusiasm ».
The commitment
Even in difficult moments, Annunziata has always rolled up her sleeves. The idea of enrolling in school had already occurred to her a few years ago after a meeting with some teachers of the CPIA. She was convinced but then, after the first lessons, she was unable to integrate into a class made up only of young people. This year, after a chat with two of his teachers, Valentina Deiana and Marina Pilia, he wanted to try again. It went well: the class is welcoming and the climate very pleasant. Week after week he followed the lessons with great interest and profit.
Subjects
"She loves grammar and has a great passion for politics: discussions with her are always lively and constructive - says Marina Pilia, literature teacher - she is the soul of the lessons, she shares the memories of her life with the whole class, made up of pupils aged 16 and over. The story of her experiences allows others to understand the difficulties and obstacles to be faced, just as she did ». His favorite subject, not surprisingly, is history: «I like it very much, it has always fascinated me perhaps because I have lived part of what is taught directly. I have always had an iron memory, even now I remember the whole period of the war. And I tell the young people about it ». A great resource for her classmates who pay her a lot of attention: in turn, Dimitri and Eduardo take her home at the end of the lesson and make her feel safe. Annunziata regrets not having been able to study as a young man: «I realized what I missed when I started attending this school. I was in third grade when the war broke out - he remembers - and once it was over in Dolianova there was only the possibility of following the vocational training courses where you were not taught basic subjects. There, however, I learned to draw, cut and sew. This was useful for my work: I worked as a seamstress for 25 years ». With disappointment he recalls that women were not allowed to study, except in rare cases. Not only that, traveling was unthinkable. “Middle school was in Sinnai and only men went there. But I didn't give up and I learned a lot of things by reading. I have never given up on informing myself about everything that intrigued me ». She laughs, Annunziata, when she thinks that, after so many ups and downs, she is still here, ready to take the exam and celebrate her secondary school certificate with teachers and classmates.
Carla Zizi
