Ortona: Battling Bad Weather, History, and Sport – Schools Closed, Gas Cut Off, and the Spirit of Pallavolo Impavida

Who says the Abruzzo coast is all sunshine and beaches? Those of us in Ortona know better: when the wind turns, the sky goes leaden grey, and bad weather hits the shore with a ferocity you wouldn't expect. In these first few days of April, the town has battened down the hatches and clenched its teeth. April 1st? Schools closed, weather alerts through the roof. Kids at home, empty streets, and seaside business owners with their hearts in their mouths. Then yesterday, April 2nd, a real cold shower (literally) for neighbourhoods like Feudo, Lazzaretto, Savini and Foro. No gas. Not even a flame to cook a plate of pasta or have a hot shower after getting your jacket soaked. The storm damaged the pipes, and people are rightly furious.

But if there's one thing I've learned living here all my life, it's that Ortona is no pushover. It didn't give up in '43, when homes became trenches and every corner was a battlefield. The Battle of Ortona, fought between German paratroopers and Canadian infantry, was one of the bloodiest of the Italian campaign. Street by street, house by house, with sappers blowing through load-bearing walls. They called it "Little Stalingrad". And today, as you stroll along the seafront or stop for a coffee in Piazza Trento e Trieste, you might not think of it. But the Canadian War Cemetery of Ortona, up on that green hill overlooking the sea, reminds you every single day. Over a thousand white graves, lined up like soldiers on parade. A heavy silence, but one that teaches you something.

That's why, when the rain comes or the wind knocks out the gas meters, I don't panic. Pallavolo Impavida Ortona shows the way. You know that team that never drops a set, that chases down lost balls and turns the match around in the final rallies? Well, they're cut from the same cloth. Impavida is the beating heart of this community: young lads sweating it out in the gym, parents packing the PalaBianchini, and that "stop and you're done" mentality. While that cursed April wind was howling outside, inside the arena you could feel a spirit of redemption. And that's no metaphor.

Let's take stock, plain and simple, of what this spell of bad weather has left behind:

• Schools closed on April 1st: a safety decision, given that the gusts brought down a few branches and made travel dangerous. Kids are delighted, parents less so – but better a day at home than an accident.
• Disruption in Feudo, Lazzaretto, Savini and Foro: gas cut off due to storm damage to the networks. No hob, no heating. Technicians are working on it, but patience has run out.
• Emergency funds: the council has already allocated money to fix the worst damage. We're talking tens of thousands of euro, but the red tape is slow – and the people living there know that better than I do.

Now the rain seems to have stopped hammering the rooftops, and the alert has been lifted. But the determination to bounce back is already sky-high. Because Ortona is like that: after the battle, you rebuild; after the storm, you sweep away the rotten leaves; after a lost set, you get back under the net and attack harder. And as I write this, I'm thinking of the lads from Pallavolo Impavida Ortona, the players I know by name, the faces I see at the supermarket. They don't stop. And neither do we.

If you ever find yourself around these parts, drop by the Canadian War Cemetery of Ortona. Bring a flower, a thought, even just a minute of silence. Then go and watch an Impavida match. You'll feel the exact same thing: the sound of a community that refuses to lose. Even when the sky slaps them in the face.