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Sofia Marino (She/Her)

Age: 27 / Young Adult

Relationship(s): Married to Luca Marino. Close with her Aunt (Angela). In a falling out with her older sister, Lidia, who she was once very close to.

Backstory: Sofia grew up in a small farming town in northern Italy with her parents and older sister, Lidia. They didn’t have much money, but they were happy. From a young age, Sofia spent most of her time with the animals on the family farm. She often helped her mother sell milk from their cows and eggs from their chickens to neighbors and others in the community.

After the passing of their parents when Sofia was just 25, she and Lidia tried to keep the farm running on their own. But when Lidia met a man from London who was studying abroad in Italy, she eventually left to be with him, leaving Sofia to manage the farm alone in a country facing economic collapse.

After meeting Luca, and as the economy continued to decline, Sofia made the difficult decision to sell the farm. She knew it was only a matter of time before it would cost more to maintain than it brought in. Using the money from the sale, she and Luca moved to the United States to start a new chapter.

Luca Marino (He/Him)

Age: 28 / Young Adult

Relationship(s): Married to Sofia Marino. Only child and has strained relationships with his parents.

Backstory: Luca grew up in a larger town in northern Italy, still somewhat close-knit, but more affluent. His parents owned a successful restaurant popular with both locals and tourists.

Luca always wanted to help out at the restaurant, but his parents never let him. As a child, they told him he was too young to even bus tables. As he got older, they continued to keep him out, often saying he had to "focus on school" as an excuse.

Determined to prove himself, Luca poured his energy into studying recipes and learning which flavors paired well together, hoping he’d eventually earn a place in the kitchen. But when the economy crashed, so did the restaurant. With no path forward at home and no emotional support from his parents, Luca felt like he had nothing to lose. So why not marry the kind, small-town girl he met and follow her to the U.S. for a fresh start?

How Sofia and Luca met:

As Luca was studying how to become a better chef, he would travel to neighboring towns to try their food and get ideas and inspiration. One of the towns he visited was the one that Sofia resided in. He was browsing at one of the town's farmers markets and went up to the table Sofia was tending to.

They sparked up a conversation about her farm, his family's restaurant, and the socioeconomic state of the country their favorite foods!!!

They said goodbye and went their separate ways, not expecting to ever see each other again. It wasn't until later that night when Sofia was at a local bar, talking with the other regulars, when Luca entered. They got to talking again, and the rest is history.

There will be a future post (or a few) going more into detail of how they met and their marriage, so stay tuned!

I hope you enjoy their story and the ones to come after!