Addis Abeba Bete

The father of my grandmother was called Marino Quercia (Nonno Marino), he lived in Addis Abeba between 1937 and 1941.

I know very little about nonno Marino, my grandmother told me he managed a bakery baking bread for the Army and that he had quite some local workers for him. After the liberation of Addis Abeba and the end of italian occupation he was then war prisoner for some time. The other thing she told me is that he had a villa and that most probably as well quite some fun with local women (he was quite promiscuous for the times).

70 years later, I am in Addis Abeba, my first trip in Africa.Looking around I try to see familiar faces: cousins, uncles? After all, aren't we all coming from this highlands some millions years ago?

The information about Marino Quercia is too little.
But it is too intriguing not to try to imagine him walking around the busy streets of Mercato (the indigenous market established by the fascist occupants in 1938) or on the side of the Piazza (italian denomination of the Arada district) possibly passing by the Headquarter of the Fascist Party... where I am sitting now, 70 years later, eating excellent ravioli and tagliatelle in the best italian restaurant in town, "Castelli".

After his daily business finished, Nonno Marino surely used to relax in his villa which most probably was located in the area known today as Kazantchis, distortion of the italian name “Casa INCIS”.

This was the housing project of the Italian National Institute for Housing of State Employees where he might had the assigned villa with garden and separate service quarters for servants and auxiliary functions.

And the Bakery? the research goes on...