Vittoria said the next time she marries, she may arrange a quiet ceremony at the chapel of Santa Maria del Soccorso, an Ischian landmark. It was an Augustinian convent built in 1350, abolished in 1653, remodeled after earthquakes, and now a triumph of Greek-Byzantine, Moresque, and Mediterranean architecture. Often she summons the chauffeur to take her there, and he waits outside while she sits in the cool darkness and contemplates the bizarre turns her life has taken. While she has been given much over the years, much also has been brutally taken away. Dare she ask why?
