In 1960 I decided to study fine art in Rome, fortunately there were numerous ships docking in Sydney discharging thousands of migrants , in a way they were all boat people of one sort or another, the displaced from war torn Europe looking for a better life. Many happy still to be alive, people who no longer had a past, only hope in an unknown future. Yet here was I going the other way.
The influences that prompted me to select Italy were threefold, apart from my exposure to the classical world of the Renascence ,the Italian Government was offering free tutorial scholarships to young people from around the world as part of their war retribution for supporting the the National Socialists in Nazi Germany.As my finances were meager this seemed highly attractive, living in the country was cheap compared to Paris or London.
A Russian friend of mine from Shanghai assured me Rome was one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the girls equally beautiful what more could a young man ask for. So I set sail with only a few pounds in my pocket for a new adventure that was to last several years. At times I became very hungry,my friends told me later they were afraid I would die of malnutrition. In many ways I had become a gypsy, unable to settle in one place for long, always looking for new visions of the world, for greener grass, but that is what makes life worth living.
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