I grew up listening to stories told by my grandfather about his life in a small town in the mountains of the Abruzzi Region of Italy. I had always hoped that he and I would travel there one day together so that he could introduce me to all of the places and people that inhabited his tales. Although he was unable to join me, I ventured to his homeland in my mid-forties and found that everything that I imagined it would be from his stories was surpassed: it was more beautiful than I thought possible.