Le mie cinque giornate : $b Messina 28 dicembre 1908 - 1° gennaio 1909

A tender, intimate voice carries us into the cramped rooms of a Sicilian household just before the great Messina earthquake of December 1908. The narrator, a devoted mother, fills each day with gentle rituals—morning greetings, bedtime blessings, whispered prayers for her little daughter Alfrida—creating a warm portrait of ordinary life on the cusp of disaster. Her reflections are peppered with the simple, loving exchanges that anchor her world, rendering the looming catastrophe all the more heartbreaking.

When the earth trembles, the narrative shifts to a frantic scramble through collapsing walls, smoke‑filled corridors, and broken doors. Together with her husband, the mother pushes through darkness, clutching her child’s hand and calling her name against the deafening roar. The account captures the raw fear, the blur of shattered plaster, and the fierce maternal resolve that drives her forward, all while preserving the poignancy of those fleeting, cherished moments before the world fell apart.