When he sees Palermo from afar, Ignazio Florio holds his breath.
At his side, on the boat, his older brother, Paolo, holds in his arms his wife Giuseppina and their baby Vincenzo.
It is 1799 and a few days earlier, on October 16, they lost everything in a terrible earthquake.
If they took to the sea, heading for Sicily, it was in the hope of starting a new life there.
Will they make it?
wonders Ignazio.
When he arrives at La Cala, the small bay wedged between two tongues of land which is home to feluccas, brigantines and schooners, his face lights up.
And the noose on his chest loosens.
He feels it, he knows it: they made the right choice.
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