Family stories

For Fouad-Giacomo and Antonia-Yasmina Filali, returning to the Italian city of Puglia was a return to their roots. It was a journey inspired by the fascinating history of their family, particularly their grandmother Antonia Fiermonte, a talented painter and violinist, as well as her brother Enzo, a renowned boxer and actor.

Born in Puglia, the story of these Italian migrants began in the early 1900s when they left Casamassima and moved to Rome before finally heading to Paris, where Antonia married the sculptor René Letourneur. After a few years, their relationship ended when she had an affair with his friend, the artist Jacques Zwoboda, whom she eventually married.

After travelling to New York from Italy, Enzo married the wealthy heiress Lady Astor and returned to Rome several years later after they divorced, succeeding in his ambition to become an actor during this time. Their story ends in Fes in Morocco, where Antonia met the Cadi Thami Filali in 1955. The Cadi was the father of Abdellatif who became the husband of his daughter Anne.

The artist Apulian Christian and the judge of Koranic law, who looks like something out of the Middle Ages, have shown great tolerance and built a bridge of peace and dialogue, which has influenced unknowingly the grandchildren's path.