Sisto, the music man of Vergemoli has died. To many, including me, he was the heart of Vergemoli. I’m not sure of his age, but he would have been around 90.
We no longer own Casa Debbio, the house we built in the village, but Sisto was always present in the 15 years we were involved there.
Sisto was very shy, but he did allow me to take his photo in 2013.
He lived a a house directly below Casa Debbio. We could only see it in the winter when the trees were bare, and then only glimpses.
The first time I became aware of Sisto was when I visited the building site of Casa Debbio and I came upon the builders laying bricks to the sound of tango music.
On investigation I found out that Sisto had speakers under the eaves of his house and on afternoons when the mood took him he liked to play music. He had old records with traditional Italian music, but tango seemed to be his favourite.
I walked down to find his house.
There were dozens of speakers under the eaves.
Once, several years ago, I went with a friend to Trassilico, a town on the other side of the valley from Vergemoli. We were surprised to hear Sisto’s music each time we came to a gap in the buildings. The speakers worked very well.
Sisto was a woodcutter and wood worker. His wood cutting equipment was originally powered by a waterfall behind his house. Most of the time I knew him he was still working and helped us on several occasions at Casa Debbio. I often saw him on the path to the house cutting and carrying huge loads of wood. He was small, but he was strong.
It was always wonderful to see the surprise on our visitors faces to hear music suddenly filling the valley. It was delightful and a huge part of the charm of Vergemoli.
Sisto will be missed. I truly hope that his music is not lost, that someone will keep his legacy alive and turn the music on sometimes.
