Four Break Ups And A Stabbing

No one knows what goes on behind closed doors

Santa Maria & Castellabate are magical places and when you first

arrive you will soon be caught up in the spell.

However, for some people, the magic eventually wears off. 

Since our arrival in 2010 four couples we know have separated.

Firstly there were Tom & Grace, our American friends who

live at the foot of Leila's mountain (or should I say 'lived', as

Grace threw Tom out & he now lives in Perdifumo).

They relocated to Italy from Brooklyn about 12 months

before we came here & Tom made the mistake of

being back in the USA when it was their Silver Wedding 

Anniversary - if I was Grace, I'd have been none too pleased either.

Second were Maria & Francesco from the Estate Agency - we'd 

noticed that Maria was making an effort with her appearance &

losing weight for several months before we heard the news. 

No guesses as to who had a new guy in her life then.

Next up were the lovely Danilo & Maryda from Sulle Onde.

Maryda had fallen out of love with Danilo & in love with a

married guy from Naples. It seems fairly obvious that the married

guy won't leave his wife & family - you could say he's having his

cake & eating it.

And finally it was Silvia & Angelo's turn. Together as a couple

for 15 years, married 12 months and a week after their

first anniversary Silvia announced that she didn't love

Angelo any more. She's even managed to have the

marriage annulled. English logic questions how that can

possibly be but, hey, this is southern Italy we're talking about - 

anything's possible if you know the right people.

So that's the four break ups, what of the stabbing?

Well that was Alfredo 'Vecchio' (who turned out to be a

Giuseppe, not an Alfredo), father of Alfredo Niglio, the guy 

we purchased Il Sogno from.

Old Alfredo was accused by a 16 year old girl of attempted rape - 

he was supposed to have given her a lift to college when she

missed her bus one morning in May last year, made a detour 

& stopped to try and rape her. She waited until lunchtime to 

tell anyone though.

That same afternoon, as her family were going to report

the incident at the local questura, the girl's father spotted Alfredo

& an argument ensued, resulting in Alfredo being stabbed to death.

The girl's story has been proven to be false, so Alfredo has

lost his life for nothing & her father has received a 10 year

prison sentence. 

And the worst part of Alfredo's story? This all happened the day
before young Alfredo was due to get married. 

So many lives ruined through a girl crying 'wolf'.