Life with Tiziano Terzani
"The Age of Enthusiasm" by Angela Terzani Staude read by Tullio Fazzolari
A few days ago, September 14th, it would have been Tiziano Terzani's birthday. He has not been there for almost twenty years but those who have read his articles or books have not forgotten him, and not even those who have had the privilege of knowing him for work. For everyone Terzani was the exceptional reporter who had described better than anyone else the fall of Saigon and the end of the war in Vietnam. And then the writer of rare sensitivity of "A Soothsayer Told Me". But he was above all a great person for culture and elegance of manners.
Bluntly: one of the best and not only in journalism. It helps to understand " The Age of Enthusiasm ", written by his wife Angela Terzani Staude (Longanesi, 400 pages, 25 euros). The subtitle, “My life with Titian”, could suggest an almost autobiographical book but it would be a wrong interpretation. In reality, it is the story of an existence always lived in two. In fact, the story of a family as, perhaps, all should be and instead there are not many. Angela and Tiziano met in Florence when they were both about eighteen. They come from different worlds. You come from a cultured environment of artists and intellectuals. He has behind him the mechanical workshop of his former partisan father and the culture he earned with the highest marks at school. The relationship withstands a first long distance when Angela attended university in Germany and Tiziano la Normale in Pisa. It is a test of solidity that will always be repeated and in much more difficult circumstances such as in the months in which Terzani is on the Vietnamese battlefields and his wife in the house in Singapore.
Asia, war correspondences and dangers do not immediately appear in their life. Immediately after graduation, for family reasons, Terzani has to go to work, giving up interesting scholarships. With his university record, it is not difficult for him to find a good job quickly. And it is not just any company that hires him: it is the one led by a genius like Adriano Olivetti, it is an industry at the forefront of technology so as to frighten the American giants but it is also a reality with great moral values and a attention to the social that does not equal. Which is perfectly intertwined with the ideals in which Terzani believes. His career starts off brilliantly. But his dream is not to be behind a desk.
The big change comes thanks to a business trip to South Africa. Terzani starts taking pictures and writing articles. These are his first reportages. He collaborates with various newspapers but the real turning point comes at the beginning of the 70s when “Der Spiegel” instructs him to open the correspondence office in Singapore from which he will have to follow the whole Far East. Starting with the Vietnam War. It is not an easy change. Especially for Angela. But it is a new beginning. Not only of a brilliant career but above all of a different life together that will lead them to travel and travel. Always with that great enthusiasm made of solidarity and serenity that Angela and Tiziano Terzani have never lacked.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/la-vita-con-tiziano-terzani-l-eta-dell-entusiasmo-angela-terzani-staude/ on Sat, 17 Sep 2022 06:57:30 +0000.