Life in Sardinia
Born to a poor shepherd family in the medieval center of Tiana, Todde was the third of 12 children. He attended school for a year before following his father and their flock of sheep up the steep mountain paths to green pastures several days' walk away.
During his 65 years in the high pastures, Todde traveled only by foot and on horseback. He remembers hearing a strange noise at the age of seven and discovering a "cart with an engine". But he generally avoided traveling by car.
In 1920, he married Maria Antonia, then aged 25, and they had four daughters and a son. She died in 1990, aged 95. The first time Todde saw a television was at a market in the town of Nuoro in 1954 (the same year RAI started broadcasting), and he would cycle 30 miles each night to watch its fuzzy pictures of dancing girls. Years later, he conceded that he still enjoyed the scantily clad dancers on variety shows.
Read more about this topic: Antonio Todde
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