Two little girls, from two very different worlds, encountered in an Italian piazza, and well wishes to both as they begin their journeysPublished May 08, 2025 • Last updated 39 minutes ago • 3 minute readSwing dancers strut their stuff in Piazza Sant’Oronzo in Lecce, Italy. Pam FramptonOn this night in Lecce, Italy is warm and fragrant, the sky an indigo arch pierced with bright stars.It smells of freshness, of burgeoning leaves and flowering shrubs, with urban undernotes of cigarettes and perfume.High heels click on cobblestones as elegantly dressed women stroll arm-in-arm through Piazza Sant’Oronzo, the square at the heart of this old city.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentThe passeggiata, a leisurely promenade to see and be seen, is an evening tradition here, involving all generations: older couples bundled up in wool coats with artfully arranged scarves, teens and young adults in black puffer coats and blue jeans, young children transfixed by vendors selling magical spin tops that buzz off into the night sky in a blaze of colour, and young parents pushing swaddled babies in state-of-the-art prams.Incongruously, American swing music is coming from somewhere in this Italian piazza, music that is raucous, brash and joyful; the kind that makes your toes tap, your feet ready to dance.As the swing music kicks into high gear, a Senegalese jewelry seller and her small daughter appear. Colourfully-dressed Senegalese sellers are regulars in Lecce’s touristy area, offering books and trinkets for a few euros.We had seen this woman and her child earlier in the day and purchased a couple of bracelets.She’s had a bad day, she tells us in Italian; I’m not sure if she means sales were poor or she’s suffering some other misfortune, but she joins us at our table, sinking into a chair as if it feels good just to be off her feet.Article contentHer daughter, who is tall and agile for a child just three-and-a-half years old, smiles shyly. She has been walking around with her mother all day, and now it is nighttime, but she shows no sign of being tired. Sensing an appreciative audience, she breaks into a frenetic dance, leaping and twisting to music that is from long before her time. We applaud and laugh at her virtuoso performance.When we leave to stroll around the square, we see that the music is coming from a section of piazza that’s been claimed by a local swing dance club; the dancers bop and jive with incredible grace and speed, as Ella Fitzgerald sings: “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah…” Piazza Sant’Oronzo boasts an amphitheatre that was partially uncovered during urban development in the early 20th century. Pam FramptonAnother girl in a different worldLater that evening, another little girl comes briefly into our lives.At a restaurant off the piazza, a Canadian-born entrepreneur and his family are having dinner at the next table. Their young daughter is putting the place up, but soon the melodrama ends and she begins to enjoy herself, smiling and spooning Parmesan onto her pasta.Article contentShe and her older brother busy themselves with paper and markers as the dad tells us that he and his wife have decided to protect their children from smartphones and screens for as long as possible so that they learn to rely on their own imaginations.He tells us that they live in Europe, and that next year, the family will travel around the world to expand their children’s horizons while they are still young.We enjoy the chat and bid them farewell.Read More PAM FRAMPTON: Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it can undo you in one PAM FRAMPTON: Even Italy’s charms can’t banish my fears for Canada PAM FRAMPTON: Even abroad, people shocked about Trump’s antics On the way home, I can’t help but think of the other little girl we’d met hours earlier: the bright spark, the charming dancer trailing her mother through the cobblestone streets for hours a day.Two little girls, two very different worlds.Walking home, I send a silent wish skyward for them both, for hope, opportunity, good health, and happy, joyful days — up, up and up into the stars.Pam Frampton lives in St. John’s. Email pamelajframpton@gmail.com | X: @Pam_Frampton | Bluesky: @pamframpton.bsky.social Article content
PAM FRAMPTON: In an Italian piazza, worlds collide
