Love Among the Ruins

The true story of how my parents met during World War II. Arthur Robinson served in North Africa, and then fought his way up the "boot" of Italy, leading his men through mine fields, into the Vatican, and eventually to Florence. Along the way, he had dinner with an Arab Sheik, dealt with a UXB, lost a few men, captured the Pope's summer home, and even killed the enemy. Silvana Rigacci fell in love - only to have her parents forbid the union - dealt with the harshness and scarcity of war, nearly died from a hot appendix, and eventually met Arthur. At first, she took no note of him, but he persisted, and love finally grew between them. After marrying, she journeyed to America to start a new life.