“This is the story of one of us,” sang Adriano Celentano.
And it is truly wonderful to share the stories of people who tell their lives through their own extraordinary journeys.
Silvio, 74 years old, an entrepreneurial engineer recently retired but still active as a consultant, and his wife
Tiziana, 65, once an employee and later a full-time mother, share their story, capturing in just a few lines their passion for life, family, and work.
They are two radiant people. Thanks to his skill and dedication, Silvio brought light even into the dark tunnels carved through mountains to open new paths, making the work of those who built them much safer. This increased safety in tunnel construction undoubtedly brought greater peace of mind and reassurance to the families of those workers.
Yes, because Silvio loves his work — and he loves his family. Together with his wife Tiziana, an equally joyful woman deeply in love with life, they built a life full of meaning.
Let them tell their story in their own words.
Silvio, driven by his passion for designing machinery to improve human work, was among the first graduates from the Polytechnic University of Milan in hydraulic systems in 1971. He dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the development of automatic bottling systems.
“By chance, a client of the company I worked for asked us to study the automation of drilling in quarries and tunnels. At that time, automation was still in its infancy, and tunnel excavation came at a high cost in accidents and human lives, making it an extremely dangerous job. A German company later contacted me to collaborate on the development of mechanized excavation machines.”
Fascinated by innovation, at the age of 30 I founded my own company. The first opportunity in Italy came in Rome, with the Aurelia tunnel — a project considered IMPOSSIBLE to build using traditional methods. It was a success. From that moment on, my journey focused on developing tunnel boring machines (TBMs) capable of making miners’ work safer, across all types of terrain, even beneath water tables. That became my winning path.
Even today, despite my age and being recently retired, I continue to work as a consultant. I have passed the baton to my son and now also give university seminars. People kindly call me the “Wizard of Tunnels,” a nickname coined by journalist Giannino della Frattina.
“As for me, Tiziana — I worked as an employee, and in my later years part-time. At 39, I chose to dedicate myself entirely to the challenging yet beautiful role of being a mother. I have never regretted that decision. We gave our children wings, and they flew. Both graduated from Bocconi University — one in finance, the other in management — and after several master’s degrees, each is building their own path. One lives in the United States, while the other, after years abroad, returned to Italy. They are now married and growing their families, giving us the immense joy of being grandparents.
Thanks — or perhaps because — my husband was constantly in contact with entrepreneurs, professors, and forward-thinking minds, I too had the opportunity to meet brilliant people and visit many fascinating places.
I am often proud of my “Mole Genius,” but beyond that, he is a strong personality — sometimes difficult. Especially since Parkinson entered our lives, his “friend Parky,” as he calls it, has intensified some of his traits, which at times can be challenging.
We have been fortunate to travel extensively and visit countless places — although there are still many, perhaps too many, that we will never see. Places like Peru or Machu Picchu, for example. Even though Silvio has traveled so much for work and is somewhat tired of planes, hotels, and restaurants, we continue our wandering — also to visit our son abroad, our grandchildren, and dear friends.
I find the customs and traditions of different cultures truly fascinating, and there is always something to learn and treasure from them. I would travel all the time, but life also brings different priorities.
Thanks to my husband’s engineering mindset — always observing even the smallest changes in himself and searching for a logical explanation — he developed a hypothesis about Parkinson’s in 2010. It wasn’t obvious at first, as the symptoms were internal, such as inner tremors and a noticeable shrinking of his handwriting. That hypothesis was confirmed in 2011.
Fortunately, the progression has been very slow — thanks to the right medication, his determination not to give up, a bit of luck, and the closeness of a family that supports him by treating him as a capable and active person. And so, we live with Parky. Of course, not every day and night is the same. Slowness in movement is there, as is the passing of time and the appearance of other conditions. But we choose to live each day in the best possible way.”
Thank you, Silvio and Tiziana, for what you chose to share with us!