giovanna

Angels in Hell

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          As World War II encroaches upon North Africa, Mussolini dictates that the children from this Italian colony be sent to Italy for their protection. The anticipated four-month “vacation” in Italy in the hands of the Franciscan nuns starts in June of 1940 and lasts seven years for eleven-year-old Giovanna Bonifazio and her young brother,Guido. From the dungeons of a castle in Naples to the Italian Alps and the American occupation of Florence, "Giovanna: Angels in Hell" tells the remarkable true story of a Jewish-Italian girl who grows into a young woman during the tumultuous years of World War II. Faced with incredible obstacles, Giovanna’s courage and determination help her overcome the fear of having her Jewish ancestry discovered, the horrors of war, and her own personal struggles.

About the Author:           

Sylvia Skrmetta has always enjoyed writing, but it was one of many interests.  For the last twenty years, she has been an artist whose sculptures have found homes in almost every state in the U.S.  She comes from a very artistic family; four of six children have art in galleries.  Neither parent can draw a straight line.

Skrmetta was born in Tripoli, Libya on Wheelus Air Force Base to an Italian-Jewish mother and an American father.  As a “military brat”, she was able to see and live in many places outside of the U.S.  In 1966, her father was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, and it was on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that she met and married Jimmy Skrmetta.  They have been married for 38 years, have three daughters and five grandchildren.  In 1985, Skrmetta went to work as a Registered Nurse at Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, Mississippi, where she still works part-time. 

“Giovanna:  Angels in Hell” was an effort on Skrmetta's part to validate her mother’s life.  It was her goal from the very first sentence to get a published book in her mother's hand while she was still alive.  In May of 2005, having come very close to losing her mother to heart complications, Skrmetta became even more determined and afraid that she might not accomplish her goal.  Then Hurricane Katrina took her house and everything she once thought mattered.  Everything that is, except for the “Giovanna” manuscript which Skrmetta tossed in her car instead of an extra pair of shoes when she reported to work at the hospital during the storm.

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