Italian Vincenzo Drago-about his cafe with Sicilian pizza, summer sunsets in the 300th anniversary park and stolen Shaverme

The Italian Vincenzo Drago first arrived in Russia in 2011, settling in a St. Petersburg restaurant. For several years he lived in two countries - in the winter he worked in St. Petersburg, and in the summer he returned to Sicily to help in the family pizzeria. Now Vincenzo is constantly living in Russia: here he met his future wife, and recently they opened his own institution together.

The Italian tells how the move to Russia taught his perseverance, why Petersburg considers St. Petersburg a comfortable and safe city and what is surprising by the locals to the foreigners.

Age: 32 years

Lice Activities: Pizzaoolo, Entrepreneur

In St. Petersburg: 9 years old

- I grew up in the small city of Comizo in Sicily, the population there is about 40 thousand people. And for the past few years, my family has been living in Marina di Raguza - an even smaller town on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is located 20 kilometers from our hometown.

In Marina di raguza we have a pizzeria. In the summer there is a large stream of tourists, and in winter 3-4 thousand people live. In principle, I could stay in my hometown, but in winter it is bored there - most of the time you sit still, but I want movements.

For the first time I came to Russia in 2011. In Rimini, where I worked before, we rented an apartment with a colleague from Russia. We made friends so well, and the Russian people seemed close to me that I decided to learn the language. Russian tourists, who in Rimini, told me that in St. Petersburg there is a restaurant where Italians work. I wrote a letter to the owner and received an invitation to work.

Somehow I began to live in two countries: in the winter here, in the summer in Italy-I took a vacation and went to my father in a pizzeria. At first, my relatives perceived this as an adventure, so they treated calmly, and now they are proud - their parents were here three times and they like everything.

For the past three years, I have not been going to Italy to work, because I have a family here. In October 2020, my wife Irina and I opened an institution on Korolenko Street, which is called Pizzeria Da Vincenzo.

We had long thought to open something of our own, but there were no reasons. And when coronavirus began, politics at my old place of work changed and I decided to leave from there. And it seems to me that this is not the worst moment to open something of their own-many establishments closed.

In our restaurant, we cook pizza. This dish is part of the Sicilian culture. In Italy, we have a wood stove in our house, my grandmother and I constantly prepared pies and pizza there.

What did Russia teach you?

- Problems can always be solved. In Italy, everything is strictly and only by law. Suppose our grandfather built our house, but then there were other laws, and now they have changed and it turns out that the house was built illegally, which means that it needs to be demolished. There are problems that are not solved at all. I lived for some time in Spain and there is also strictly.

Back in Russia, I learned not to give up immediately if I need something. Seek, try, despite the fact that it seems difficult.

Who played an important role for you?

- Of course, wife Irina. We go together, solve problems together, we have a common life. We met thanks to common friends and somehow immediately found a common language, and then slowly we began to tie relations.

Recently, we had a son of Leonardo. He has already begun to walk and run. I try to talk to him in Italian, and it surprises me that he understands me. I think that there will be more Russian than Italian, but I would like us to be more often in Italy, so that he knew our relatives and Italian culture.

In St. Petersburg there is a small community of Italians, we often communicate. Recently, one acquaintance said that he has many Italian books that his grandmother also bought, but he has nowhere to put them, as he is moving. They will be brought to me, and I will distribute them.

There are also people who have a restaurant business here. I consult them and they often help me.

What would you like to transfer from your country to Russia?

- The weather - I am terribly missing here the sun! And, of course, loved ones. Irina and Irina came to our wedding 17 of my friends and relatives. It was very pleasant that they visited here.

In communication with the Russians, I do not have enough volume and expression. Italians are very loud, emotional, local people are not like that.

Five finds in St. Petersburg

1. Petersburg
   This is an incredibly beautiful and convenient city. There is everything here. The weather in St. Petersburg is also normal. When it is cold and the snow lies - it is very beautiful. But, of course, I like the heat more. In 2018, I bought myself a bicycle and constantly went to the 300th anniversary park in the summer-a fairy tale!
2. People
   Here, in principle, people are simpler, you can agree with everyone. And it is amazing how the locals react to Italians. It seems that for Russian people a foreigner is often equal to an alien. No one believes, asks to show the passport. Russian people like Italy, they recall San Remo, Adriano Celentano-our old classics. But people here and people in Italy are very different, and I like that I understand both of them.
3. Safety
   Here, many do not think about it, but Petersburg is a very safe city. I lived in Barcelona, ​​the thefts constantly occur there and you need to be on the alert. For nine years of my life in St. Petersburg, I only once stole a shawarma. I was a little drinking, I got home, went to bed, but I realized that I was hungry. He went downstairs, took Shawrema, bit, a man comes up to me and says: “Bro, give me money,” I told him that there was no money, so he took the shawarma and left. And I was left without money and shawarma.
4. Walks
   In Russia, everyone is very fond of walking: in Nevsky, in parks. And even in bad weather. In Italy, if the street is less than ten degrees, no one wants to go out.
5. Park of the 300th anniversary
   There is a very beautiful beach and very beautiful sunsets, I like the bridge from the stadium. Especially beautiful in the summer, when good weather.

Why are you here?

- In St. Petersburg, I am pleased. There is life here, there is movement. I like the pace and the fact that so many things are happening in St. Petersburg. Living in a small city is boring, perhaps I want this in old age, but now I have a lot of energy. The city is large, but not so much as to get lost in it: if there are no traffic jams, then in 20 minutes you can get from the center to the outskirts.

And I found my fate here: my job and family.

"Paper" regularly publishes stories about foreigners . What Petersburg attracts and repels visitors, what Russia teaches and why at all to come to an unfamiliar city - businessmen, students, scientists and restaurateurs from different countries talk about their experience and views on St. Petersburg life. Read all the texts of the heading here .