(ANSA) - Palermo, April 21 - An 86-year-old stonemason has
enrolled in a technical high school to get his surveying
diploma, sources in the Sicilian city of Palermo said Tuesday.
Giuseppe Saltalamacchia - who quit school at the age of 11
to help his family make ends meet - went to night school in the
town of Lercara Friddi and obtained his junior high diploma
three years ago with top marks.
Teachers call him "a model student".
At 17, Saltalamacchia was an illegal worker in a French
mine, followed by military service at 21.
After that he went to work in the railways, but never gave
up his passion for stonemasonry and sculpture. His work now
adorns several churches in Palermo-area towns, sources said.
86-year-old enrolls in high school
Giuseppe Saltalamacchia had to quit school at 11